Zettai Daijoubu Dayo
by 1 Litre of Tears Sakura
Summary: Sakura, Syaoran, Yukito/Yue, and Kero go to Hogwarts with Yue and Kero there as Sakura's guardians of course . Setting is the third HP book. Just read the damn story.
1. The Letter

DISCLAIMER: Cardcaptor Sakura and Harry Potter do not belong to me. CCS belongs to CLAMP and HP belongs to JK Rowling respectively. I apologize for my lack of grammar and my amateurish writing. I have not taken English class since last year (and last year, my English teacher made us read books instead of teaching us any grammar). And can someone explain where the whole Li-clan Elders thing came from? I mean, they were never mentioned in both the manga nor the anime. Also, where did "cute little descendant" come from? Who was the first person to make Eriol say it?

--

It had been a year since the Hope Card wrecked havoc on Tomoeda, as well as Sakura confessing her feelings to Syaoran. The cool autumn leaves decorated the trees around the town, displaying shades of red, gold, brown, and orange. Tomoeda had gone back to its normal-ness after Sakura sealed away the Hope Card, formerly called the Nothing Card.

Inside the Kinomoto residence, 13-year-old Sakura Kinomoto was doing her summer vacation homework. Groaning, she slumped over the math book laying in front of her. Why did her new junior high school teacher have to assign her homework over vacation, anyway? Mr. Terada never assigned them anything over summer vacation back in elementary school! Frustrated,Sakura moved her chair back and opened the drawer containing the Sakura Book. Inside the book were Sakura Cards, cards that she had converted from Clow Cards. Taking them out of the stack, she flipped through them.

"Aw, if there was a card that could help me with my homework..." she sighed.

Kero popped out of his drawer. "Sakura, you can't use the cards for everything. I've told you a long time ago--there are some things cards and magic can't do."

"Yeah, but..." Sakura frowned.

"Kaijuu, you've got a letter!" Touya called from downstairs

"UGH, KAIJUU JANAI DESU!" came Sakura's angry cry as she came stomping down the stairs like an elephant. She shot Touya a death glare (which pretty much scared him) as she snatched the envelope addressed to her in his hands. Looking at the envelope, she stared at the mailing address. It seemed pretty odd, like it was written by someone trying to make a guess where the person it was sent to was living.

_Miss Sakura Kinomoto  
Kinomoto Residence  
Bedroom with lots of plush toys  
Tomoeda, Japan_

"Eh?"

"Don't look at me," Touya said, taking a sip of his morning coffee. "I just found it."

Turning the envelope over, Sakura saw a strange seal on it. Then opening it, she pulled out the letter. She carefully read it. "To Miss Sakura Kinomoto...you have been informed that...ano...Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

Upon hearing this, Touya spewed out a bit of his coffee and started cracking up. "HAHAHAHAHAHA. Is this some kind of joke?!"

"Oniichan, there's a P.S. at the bottom..." Sakura showed him. Touya bent down and looked. To his disbelief, the P.S. said "To Kinomoto's older brother: No, this is not a joke."

Snatching the letter from Sakura, he snarled, "I'm not letting you go."

"Why?!"

"I can't let my little sister go off to some school in who knows where for an entire year! And you know I can't handle the household by myself and otousan!" Touya argued, ripping up the letter. Sakura watched in disbelief as the shredded pieces of paper fell to the floor. "Anyway, end of discussion. I have to get to school now."

Sakura made a low growling sound in her throat as she watched Touya leave. Normally, she would leave the same time as him so she could meet Yukito, but after Yukito had denied her feelings for him and told her she just saw him as another family, she no longer did that. Taking a piece of dumpling from the table, she stuffed it in her mouth as she put on her rollerblades.

_Mou, geez! _she thought as she bladed to school. _ I was somewhat interested in it...but oniichan's kind of right...a whole year...what if Tomoyo-chan can't come? If it's only for magical people, then I won't be able to see my regular friends, like Chiharu-chan, Naoko-chan, Rika-chan, and Yamazaki-kun..._

At school, Sakura told Tomoyo about the letter. Tomoyo put one hand on her cheek as she sighed. "If Sakura-chan goes, then I will be sad, because I won't be able to see Sakura-chan for an entire year! But it also sounds very cool. Have you talked to Li-kun about it yet?"

Sakura shook her head. "Iie. I'll call him tonight and talk to him about it."

"Alright, class, settle down now. Please turn in your summer vacation homework," Tsukemi-sensei announced as she entered the classroom. She had long medium-length brown hair that ended at her shoulders, small blue eyes, and a small nose. On the side of her hair was an orchid hairpin.

"I'll discuss it further with you later at break, okay?" Sakura whispered as she turned in her homework.

Tomoyo nodded as she also turned in her summer homework.

Break came shortly after class ended. Sakura stood outside under the usual hangout place with Tomoyo. She glanced left and right to make sure nobody was close enough to eavesdrop in, namely Yamazaki, then stepped in closer to Tomoyo. Tomoyo raised an eyebrow. Sakura dropped her voice to a low whisper as she further explained the letter to her friend.

"England...isn't that where Hiiragizawa-kun lives?" Tomoyo wondered

"Yeah," Sakura said with a nod. "And I have no ideawhy they want me to go to some school over there."

"Did you reply yet?"

Again, Sakura shook her head no. "Oniichan doesn't want me to go. He doesn't want me to leave him and otousan and you alone when I'm gone."

"Kinomoto-kun is very protective of you," Tomoyo smiled.

"Mm…..I wonder if Syaoran-kun got the letter too," Sakura pondered, her emerald eyes gazing up in wonder at the clouds.

Later that afternoon, Sakura came home to find Touya fuming at her. She could feel a large sweatdrop trickling down the back of her head as he loomed fiercely over her. "Sakura, 30 letters for you from the same school has invaded our house!"

"Aaah, gomen nasai!" Sakura apologized. "They must want a reply or something."

Touya glared at his little sister, then sighed as he softened his gaze. "Alright. Fine. Write back to them and tell them you can't go."

"Hai!"

Taking one of the mass letters upstairs to her room, Sakura took out a pen from her pencil case and began writing. Curious, Kero flew up next to her as he watched her write. He scanned the letter, then widened his eyes and gasped. A confused look came across Sakura's face as she turned to look at the Guardian Beast beside her.

"Nande, Kero-chan?"

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Clow Reed has received letters from them to attend their school and help teach the students there, but he always turned them down because he liked to work alone, and he didn't want to leave me and Yue behind if he left for Hogwarts. He also didn't like passing on what he knew to others."

"Oh."

"So anyway, what are you writing?" Kero asked, changing the subject.

"I'm replying back to them. Oniichan doesn't want me to go, so I'm replying back saying I can't go because everybody will miss me and be sad," Sakura explained as she wrote. When she finished, she neatly folded it in half and put it back in the envelope. Once again, confusion swept over her as she immediately thought aloud, "But how am I suppose to send this back?"

"I heard they deliver mail by owl," Kero replied.

"Owl?"

As if on cue, a brown owl smashed against the window. Startled, Sakura leapt out of her seat (all while screaming 'hoe' at the same time) and rushed over to the window. Her emerald eyes widened upon seeing the owl lying painfully on its side. Quickly opening the window, she took the owl in.

"Daijoubu?!" she cried frantically to the owl.

"Geez, why don't these birds watch where they're flying?" Kero frowned.

"Kero-chan!" Sakura scolded. "It's not their fault windows are so clear that it looks like it's not even there at all!" She then glanced down at the owl. "Can any of the Sakura Cards heal?"

Kero shook his head. "Sorry, but no."

Sakura sighed. "Then I guess I have to--"

Before she could finish her sentence, the owl, as if magically healed, rose up from her arms and flapped its wings. Astonishment came over her as she stared at the owl.

"Are you all better now?"

The owl nodded, letting out a small hoot.

"Then….." Sakura reached over and picked up her reply to the letter on the desk, then gave it to the brown owl. "Here." She took a pink ribbon, wrapped it around the letter, then attached it to the owl's small legs. Immediately after she attached the letter to it, the owl took off into the sky.

"So did the kid get the letter?" Kero asked after the owl had left.

"I don't know…I'll call him right now and ask," Sakura said. Taking out her cell phone, she began dialing Syaoran's cell phone number. It took 5 rings before he finally picked up.

"Yeah, Li Syaoran here," he answered. His voice sounded sleepy.

"Moshi moshi, Sakura desu," Sakura answered.

She could hear a crash on the other end as Syaoran struggled to get the phone back in his hand. Apparently, Sakura's voice had come as a shock to him, seeing as they haven't been in contact with each other for well over a year now.

"Sakura?! What? What is it?" Syaoran asked, his voice suddenly growing concern.

"Nandemonai! Anyway, I was just wondering….did you get any strange letter as of lately?" Sakura asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did. From some school called Hogwarts. Did you get it too?" Syaoran answered.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah." She clutched the phone tighter. "But oniichan doesn't want me to go."

"Your brother's an idiot, that's why." Syaoran stated.

"Hey!" Sakura frowned.

"Sorry. Anyway, mother thinks I should go because she believes I will grow stronger there," Syaoran replied, reverting back to the Hogwarts topic.

"I see."

"Well, if your brother finally lets you go, we can seeeach other again. I mean, it's been a year now?"

Sakura nodded. "Mm."

"Well, I have to go now."

"Okay…." Sakura's voice sounded sad.

"Bye."

"Bye..."

Clicking off her phone, Sakura let out a large sigh as she flopped back on her bed. "Syaoran-kun…..he's going."

"I take it his mother wants him to go?" Kero asked.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I'm so mad at oniichan for not letting me go!"

Just then, she heard Touya's voice from downstairs. Once again, he was yelling about letters. Rolling her eyes, she stood up from her bed and peeked her head down the staircase.

"Oniichan, I already replied to them!" she cried.

"You can go." Touya said, although not too happily.

"Eh?"

"You. Can. Go."

"Why?" Sakura asked. Why this sudden change in her brother's decision-making?

Touya sighed. "They saw your reply and wrote back saying you could come home every 4 weeks if you wanted to."

"Really? That's so nice of them!" Sakura cried happily.

"Yeah, yeah, go pack. I'll go call Yukito and ask him to go with you. His other half…Yue, right? Well, anyway, I figure this Yue might want to look after you when you're there. Oh, and you owe me by doing all 4 weeks of my chores when you get back."

"Yukito-san? That'd be great!" Sakura cried as she ran upstairs to pack. "And that's mean!" Taking out her suitcase, she began tossing in her clothes.

"Eh, what now?" Kero asked.

"Kero-chan, oniichan's letting me go!" she announced.

"That's great!"

"I'm taking you with me!"

"Even more great!" Kero beamed. "I've always wanted to see what Hogwarts was like, because Clow always rejected their letters and I never got the chance to see it."

"I'm sure it'll be fun there," Sakura smiled.


	2. Diagon Alley

Ch. 2: Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: I think I'm slowly getting out of my writer's block. I've been having it for about…..3 years now? XD; The last time I ever posted any story was my freshman year, and now, I'm a senior. That's a long time to have writer's block. I still need to work out on details, yes, though it's kinda hard for me to write a long paragraph on simple things.

Oh, and Fujitaka Kinomoto has very few to no lines in this fanfic, because I don't know what lines to give him, or how to make him understand that Sakura's going off to a magic school. And does anyone remember what kind of car the Kinomoto family has? I can't remember if it was a van, SUV, or just a regular car.

* * *

"You sure you've got everything?" Touya asked as he watched his little sister drag her suitcase out of her room.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. All except for the Hogwarts school supplies. I think the letter said they were sold in Diagon Alley. Let me check…" Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper. Smoothing it out, she reread it. "Yep. Diagon Alley."

"Why does it sound like 'diagonally'?" Touya wondered as he raked his fingers through his dark hair. "Oh, and I'm going to drive you to the airport. It's too far for you to rollerblade there."

"Uh, okay," Sakura said slowly.

"I believe the next flight is at 7:50pm, if we take go to the Osaka Kansai airport. Well, it's 6:30 now. You've had an early dinner, right? Well, I think if we hurry, we'll probably make it. I'll go call Yuki and see if he's up for it." Touya checked his watch before disappearing from the living room to go call Yukito.

Sakura sat down on the yellow couch. She glanced around the house, taking in everything into perspective. Today was the day she would leave for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It would be the last time she would ever see her family and home on a daily basis. She was going to live in England for an entire year, and would be only be allowed to come home every 4 weeks if she chose to. She let out a sigh as she clutched her skirt tightly. Would it really be worth it for her to go?

"Yo, kaijuu, Yuki's alright with it." Touya declared as he walked lazily back into the living room.

A smile spread across Sakura's face, which immediately turned to anger and annoyance. "Yukito-san's going? That's great! AND DO NOT CALL ME THAT!!"

Touya narrowed his eyes. "Hey, I won't be able to tease you anymore everyday after this, you know. Anyway, let's go. I want to beat the traffic."

Sakura watched, her emerald eyes glistening as Touya started walking towards the front door. He grabbed his jacket from the coat hanger, along with the car keys settled on the small table next to it. After tonight, she wouldn't see her family again. Touya wouldn't be there to protect her from bullies. Of course, she knew Syaoran would protect her, but…..

"Oi, are you coming?" Touya shouted, glancing back to find his sister still rooted in the same spot.

_Oniichan…_Sakura thought, still staring blankly ahead.

"OIII!!" Touya's voice was more raised now.

"HAI!" Sakura cried as she hurried out to the car.

"Really," Touya shook his head as he followed his little sister out to the car.

Opening the car door, Sakura scooted herself in. She placed her pink suitcase beside her, then buckled herself up. Taking a glance outside her window, she directed her gaze towards her house. Her gaze soon became interrupted as Yukito suddenly came by, a cheerful expression on his face.

"Konbanwa, Sakura-chan." Yukito greeted as he slid into the front passenger seat. He snapped on his seat belt, then turned his body around to face her. "Touya-kun told me everything. I'm excited as well."

"Hehehe…" Sakura laughed nervously. It was kind of hard for her to discuss magic with Yukito. His other form, Yue, would be much easier to talk to, because Yue would understand completely about her magical problems.

"Alright, we're go--" Touya began as he climbed into the car, but got cut off. Hearing huffing and puffing and the sound of paced footsteps, Sakura leaned out the car door to see Tomoyo running up to them from out of nowhere.

"Oh, good, you haven't left yet!" she cried.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura's eyes widened with disbelief. What was Tomoyo doing here at this time of night?

"Sakura-chan, I cannot let you leave without your set of costumes!" Tomoyo said.

Sakura started to protest, but Tomoyo pulled out a suitcase and handed it to her friend. She could feel her arms being weighted down by the heaviness of the suitcase. "There's about 200 of them in there. I tried to fit them all in as I could. Because I won't be there to tell you what to wear for what occasion, I made a calendar on when you should wear what costume, since it's the best I can do for my best friend. And because I don't want you to wear the same costume twice, you can tell me if you need more, and I'll send more over!"

"Um, thanks, but….how did you know I was going?" Sakura asked as she looked at the extra suitcase, then at Tomoyo.

Tomoyo let out a giggle. "Tsukishiro-san. I was on my way back from Maki, and I ran into him. He told me he was leaving with you, so I knew I had to hurry and bring the costumes to you!"

"HEY, CAN WE LEAVE NOW?!" Touya shouted impatiently.

"Gomen, Kinomoto-kun!" Tomoyo apologized, bowing politely. "Sakura-chan, you will contact me everyday, right?"

"If technology works, yes. If not, I'll find some way to do it," Sakura grinned.

"That's good to hear from you, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo smiled. "Now, I shall go. I cannot let my dear Sakura-chan miss such wonderful opportunities." She took a couple of steps out of the way of the parking space.

Touya let out a relieved sigh. He thought the interruptions would never end. "Alright, you two. We've got 20 minutes. Let's get there as fast as we can." His foot lightly pressed the accelerator as he backed out of the parking space, then shifted into forward and drive as he drove out onto the main road. When he got on the main road, his foot pressed harder on the accelerator, increasing the speed from 15 mph to 40 mph.

Sakura leaned back against the cushion of the seat, her eyes staring out into the nightlife of Japan. She was going to be fine. Syaoran would be there. She had made sure she brung the Sakura Cards with her. Everything will be alright. She glanced again at the suitcases beside her. There were now two suitcases, the newly added one belonging to Tomoyo.

Blurred sceneries of lit buildings whizzed by as Touya drove as fast as he could to get his little sister to the airport. He didn't want to give her up to some school for a whole year, but he didn't want her to be sad about not going, either.

Within 15 minutes, they had miraculously reached the airport. So far, they had not run into any traffic at all, except for a small one that lasted 5 minutes. Quickly, Sakura and Yukito rushed in and bought their plane tickets. Luckily, they had made it 5 minutes before the departure time. The flight attendant smiled warmly as she took each of their tickets.

"Thank you for boarding the UK Airlines. Please enjoy the flight," she exclaimed in a heavy British accent.

"Ano….you're welcome," Sakura responded, struggling to speak English.

"Don't forget to take off your shoes," Touya whispered in his sister's ears.

"I'm not falling for that again!" Sakura growled as she started down the corridors leading up to the plane cockpit.

"Ja, Touya-kun!" Yukito chuckled as he followed after Sakura. "I'll take good care of her!"

The two of them went down the corridors leading up to the plane, where they entered a small cockpit before getting to their seats. Sakura sat in seat 10A while Yukito sat in 10B. Sakura glanced out the window as the passengers began to fill the plane. Then slowly, the plane began running along the ground, slowly ascending with each speed. In no time flat, Sakura could see over the clouds, the Japanese landscape below looking like colored patches on a quilted blanket. During the trip, a stewardess came down the aisle, handing out food and drinks to those who were hungry or thirsty. In the middle of the flight, Sakura fell asleep, and didn't wake up until 8 hours later.

* * *

After twelve hours of flight, the plane finally landed in England at 12:30 the next day on August 30th. Stepping off the plane, Sakura glanced around at her surroundings. So many, interesing European-styled architecture! They were structured very differently from the Japanese ones back home. Heading up to the baggage claim area of the airport, Sakura and Yukito then proceeded to find their luggage on the moving conveyor belt. Finding hers first, Sakura lifted her luggage off the belt and set it on the ground. Her eyes drifted suddenly to a boy with dark-blue hair and blue eyes wearing square-rimmed glasses, smiling sincerely at her.

"Eriol-kun!" Sakura cried.

"Hello, Sakura-san." Eriol greeted. "How was the flight?"

"Tiring," Sakura answered exhaustively.

Eriol nodded, then turned to Yukito, who had just gotten his luggage off the baggage claim as well. "How about you, Tsukishiro-san?"

"It was exciting," Yukito beamed.

"That's good to hear. Now, would you two like to stay at my place while you're here? It's all the way in England, but I assure you that it'll be much closer to Hogwarts than Japan." Eriol suggested.

"That'd be great!" Sakura cried happily. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Eriol-kun!"

Eriol suddenly dropped his voice to a low whisper as he stepped closer to her and leaned in towards her ear. "Sakura-san, I would like to speak with you privately."

"Hoe?"

Saying nothing, Eriol led her to a coffee shop. Not knowing what to do, Sakura followed him. Picking a lone table in the far back corner, Eriol gestured politely for Sakura to sit down. He began to speak as she sat down.

"Sakura-san, I informed Hogwarts about you." Eriol confessed.

Shock filled every part of the Card Mistress's face upon hearing this news. "Nani?"

Eriol sighed as he explained. "My past life, Clow Reed, never had a chance to experience Hogwarts, and I wish he did. I've heard wonderful stories about those who went, as well as terrible ones. Magic at Hogwarts is very different than our sorcery magic, so I think it'll be good for you to experience the different types of magic they teach there. Although I have to warn you, it's bad times over there. Rumors are spread that the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, might be alive somewhere. They say that he's dead thanks to a fellow wizard named Harry Potter--you will meet him sooner or later--, but others still believe he could be out there."

"Hoeee!" Sakura cried, feeling a bit terrified.

"What the hell are you doing scaring her, Hiiragizawa?!" a familiar Chinese-accented voice shouted.

Without looking up, Eriol smirked as he casually leaned back against his chair and folded his arms smugly. "Is that the voice of my cute little descendant?"

Sakura blinked in confusion. "Cute little…." Tilting her auburn head back, she found herself staring into familiar amber eyes. Scooting her chair back a bit, she widened her eyes as a boy with messy brown hair smiled back at her. "SYAORAN-KUN!" She threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you too," Syaoran gasped. "But you're hugging me too tight."

"Aa, gomen!" Sakura quickly let go of him. She turned to Eriol. "Ano….Diagon Alley doko desu ka?"

Eriol sighed. "Unfortunately, I do not exactly know. However, I arranged it all with Hagrid-san, and he's happy to help. Diagon Alley is a secret place known only to magical people, and is like a witch/wizard's shopping center."

"Oh, there you guys are!" Yukito said as he approached them. "I was wondering where you went. Oh, and hello, Li-kun."

Syaoran smiled as he bowed his head respectively.

"I think Hagrid-san is waiting near my house. I told him we'd be there in 15, and well, 10 minutes has already passed." Eriol calmly said as he stood up. "Come on."

"H-Hai," Sakura said as she followed after Eriol, Syaoran and Yukito trailing behind her.

Neither Sakura, Syaoran, nor Yukito expected Hagrid to be a giant. The three stared gaping at the tall man before them as he led them into Diagon Alley, using his umbrella wand to rearrange the bricks on the walls to open a new path unknown to non-magical humans. Hagrid frowned as he glanced back at Yukito.

"Aren't ye a Muggle?"

"Muggle wa nande desu ka?" Sakura was confused.

"They're people with no magical powers, and dress the way we do. Daidouji-san would be considered a Muggle because she has no magic," Eriol explained.

Big, white wings suddenly engulfed Yukito's body, hovered in the air for a moment, then parted as the Moon Guardian, Yue, stood in Yukito's place.

"Do you have anything to say to me now, you giant idiot?" Yue asked coldly.

Hagrid gaped at the angel-like moon guardian before him, bewildered, then shook his head 'no.' Yue coolly closed his icy-blue eyes and transformed back into Yukito.

"So what do we do here?" Sakura inquired, looking around at all the shops.

"Your first objective is to buy a wand," Eriol explained.

"But I already have--" Sakura began to protest, but Eriol put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head silently.

"Sakura-san, you must lay off your Star Wand and Sakura Cards for a while until there comes a time when you really need it."

Sakura sighed. "Alright, fine."

"There's many shops that sell wands," Hagrid spoke as they strolled down the alley. He stopped in front of a shop called Ollivander's. Pointing to the store sign, he recommended, "But Ollivander's is the best wandmaker there is!"

"Alright, let's go in," Syaoran said.

They entered Ollivanders. The store inside was very narrow and small, with what looked like rows of shelves lining the room. On the shelves were narrow boxes, all holding different wand types of different sizes. Sakura gazed around. It almost looked like a shoe store, except that Ollivander's sold wands instead of shoes. From restocking new boxes onto the highest shelf, Ollivander noticed the new group of people coming in.

"Ah, who do we have here today?" Mr. Ollivander peered down from his ladder.

"These two are here to buy their first wand," Eriol said, gesturing to Sakura and Syaoran.

"Of course. You two must be the new foreign exchange students. Word spreads quickly in the Wizarding World," Mr. Ollivander smiled as he took down two boxes and gave them to Sakura and Syaoran. "Hogwarts doesn't usually send out letters to those living outside of England. What are your names?"

"Kinomoto Sakura," Sakura replied.

"Li Syaoran," Syaoran answered. "Also known as Li Xiaoling."

"Curious. Very curious. A Japanese and Chinese exchange student," Mr. Ollivander rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He then turned his attention to Sakura. "Which one's your dominant hand?"

"Doushite?"

"The hand you write with," Eriol told her.

"Oh! I think my right hand," Sakura replied, unsure.

Mr. Ollivander handed her a wand. "Here. This is a 10-inch cherry wand with phoenix feather. Go on, give it a wave."

Sakura waved her wand. The wand came to life as cherry blossom petals came fluttering from out of nowhere, shimmering sparkles raining down along with it. She gazed in awe at the beautiful scenery before her eyes. Knowing that the wand was satisfied with its owner, Ollivander then proceeded to let Syaoran try out his wand.

"Fifteen-inch and three-quarters mahogany with unicorn tail hair."

Waving the wand, Syaoran expected to get the same result as Sakura. Instead, a small explosion ensued. He glared fiercefully at the wand as Ollivander snatched it back from him abruptly.

"Alright, that won't do. Here, try this. 12-inch chestnut with dragon heartstring." Ollivander suggested as he picked out a second wand and handed it to the Chinese sorcerer. Once again, Syaoran gave it a wave. He watched as fireworks sprouted from the wand. He nodded with content.

"How much are these?" Sakura asked.

Eriol chuckled. "You pay them with galleons, knuts, and sickles." He fished out 30 galleons from his pocket and gave them to Mr. Ollivander.

"Do we have any ourselves?" Syaoran frowned.

"Don't worry, my cute little descendant. I put 50,000 in both your vaults at Gringotts Wizarding Bank," Eriol assured. "Everything is taken cared of. Sakura-san, your vault number is 142. Syaoran-kun, your vault is 143."

Sakura smiled at the Clow Reed descendant, her emerald eyes shimmering brightly. "Arigatou!" She turned to Syaoran. "Well, then. Let's go get our books!" She skipped out of Ollivanders, Syaoran following her out. Mr. Ollivander chuckled.

"My, they seem to enjoy hanging around each other. Are they good friends?"

Eriol smiled as he watched the two run off. "Yes, but they are also more than that."

Upon receiving strange stares after stepping out of Ollivanders, Sakura could feel a sweatdrop on her head. "Hoeeee…."

"Don't worry. They're just staring at your clothing. It's because those are Muggle clothing, and wizards and witches here all wear robes," Eriol explained as he dropped his voice to a low whisper.

"It still makes me uncomfortable," Sakura whispered back.

"Sakura-chan, Li-kun, did you get everything you need yet?" Yukito asked as he came back with many bags of food in his arm.

Shaking her head, Sakura told him, "We still need to get our books." She craned her neck upwards to look at Hagrid. "Hagrid-san, where do we get our books?"

"At Flourish and Blotts, of course!" Hagrid exclaimed, pointing to a store located across from Ollivander's. "They--" But before he could say anymore, Sakura and Syaoran had already sprinted across to the bookstore like madmen. Hagrid let out a loud chuckle.

Inside the wizarding bookstore, the coupling searched around to find the books on the list. Because they were 13 years old, they were going to be placed in the third year classes, even though they have never taken classes at Hogwarts before. On their list was _A History of Magic, Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles, Intermediate Transfiguration, The Monster Book of Monsters, Muggles Who Notice, Standard Book of Spells, grade 3, Unfogging the Future, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, One-Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, _and _Magical Drafts and Potions. _The high shelves and the cluttering of books, as well as the fact that they were written in English, made it hard for Sakura and Syaoran to find what they want.

Syaoran finally pulled a book out of the shelf. He held it up to the Cardmistress. "I wonder if this is it."

Sakura stared at the book title. _Magical Drafts and Potions._ She checked the list. She gave him a thumbs up, indicating that it was the right one. Syaoran grinned as he took another one off the shelf for her. After 30 minutes of searching for the needed books (and having the manager fetch _The Monster Book of Monsters, _which Sakura quickly calmed down and Syaoran threatening to rip its pages off with his sword and throw its remains in a lake if it didn't behave), the two finally got all their needed books for the term.

All of a sudden, Kero poked his head out from out of Sakura's purse. "Sa….ku…..ra!"

Widening her eyes, Sakura let out a gasp. "Kero-chan! Gomen nasai!"

"Really, you should've let me have a little more air!" Kero cried. "And where is this?"

"Kore wa Flourish and Blotts. They sell wizarding books here."

"So what have you been doing in there, plushie. I hope Sakura didn't bring any sweets for you to stuff your greedy face in," Syaoran taunted, narrowing his amber eyes at the small Guardian Beast.

Kero felt anger rising in him as he floated up to Syaoran, his beady eyes also glaring. "HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PLUSHIE?!"

"Syaoran-kun, Kero-chan, yamero yo!" Sakura demanded, stepping in between the two arguers.

The two glared at each other, sparks flying between their blazing eyes. They turned away from each other a second later with a 'hmph'. Eriol came into the bookstore not too soon after, his blue eyes shining from behind his square-rimmed glasses.

"Got everything? Oh, and hello, Keroberos."

"Yo, Clow-sama!" Kero greeted enthusiastically.

Eriol sighed as he placed two fingers on his forehead. "Please don't call me that. I am Eriol in this life." He turned back to Sakura and Syaoran. Sakura blinked for a few moments before replying that they had already gotten everything they need.

"Alright, then. Tomorrow at 11am sharp, there will be a train that leaves for Hogwarts. You two will need to get onto Platform 9 ¾. For the rest of the night, you two can continue to explore Diagon Alley if you'd like, but keep away from Knockturn Alley. It is a dangerous place and is full of dark magic." Eriol explained.

Syaoran frowned. "If you didn't attend Hogwarts in your 'past life', then how do you know all this?"

Eriol smiled mischievously. "I've read up a bit. And if you don't want to explore more of Diagon Alley, you two are welcome to stay at my place for tonight."

"I think I'll crash at your place," Sakura stretched her arms tiredly, yawning at the same time. "I'm getting sleepy right now, and the long flight was exhausting."

"Same here," Syaoran agreed.

During the hours that Sakura, Syaoran, Yukito, and Kero were at Eriol's house, Sakura and Syaoran snoozed on Eriol's couch for the rest of the afternoon, awoke when it was time for dinner (in which they had fish and chips, sushi, Scottish smoked fish, tempura, rice, and mixed vegetables that included broccoli, baby corn, mushrooms, a couple of lettuce, and parsley, all soaked in oyster sauce). After dinner, the two of them fell asleep again, due to their extreme tiredness.


	3. Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: Sorry for making Yukito sound so pointless the past two chapters. ; I don't really know how to write in his role. He'll have bigger parts when he turns into Yue at Hogwarts (to escape students mistakening him for a Muggle). x33

Oh, and can anyone confirm why so many CCS fanfics depict Clow Reed as….evil? I don't see anything bad with him. o.o;

* * *

Ch. 3: Hogwarts Express

"Here we are!" Hagrid exclaimed after Sakura, Syaoran, Eriol, and Yukito reached the Kings Cross train station in London. It was around 10:45 in the morning. Earlier, Sakura and Syaoran revisited Diagon Alley, and went into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasion, located next to Flourish and Blotts, to get themselves robes for the school-year and for other purposes. Sakura had bought herself a light-pink robe, whereas Syaoran bought himself a green one.

Glancing around, Sakura watched in awe as passerbys got off and on the Muggle trains. The fact that the trains weren't so crowded and that they ran on engine instead of magnets intrigued her as well. Back in Japan, the train stop was literally crowded to the last square-inch, and usually there would be someone to push the last person onto the train. Inside a Japanese train was hectic, for there was no room to move around because every part of the train was filled with passengers. Sakura smiled serenely at those who glanced her way. Beside her, Syaoran scanned the station for Platform 9 ¾. He frowned as he turned around to face Sakura.

"I don't see it anywhere."

Sakura looked at him with surprise. "Hoe?"

"Sakura-chan, Li-kun, have you found the train?" Yukito asked, catching up to them. Both shook their heads. Just then, Syaoran caught three people in black robes walking past from the corner of his eyes. Running up to them, he demanded, "Where's Platform 9 ¾ ?"

The boy with red hair and freckles blinked. "Uh, Hermione, do you know what language he's speaking?"

"I think he's speaking Chinese," the brunette girl beside him theorized. "I think I read about a spell that will make us understand him. _Linguaticum_!" She pointed her wand at Syaoran's mouth. "Well, say something."

"….Where's Platform 9 ¾ ?" Syaoran repeated in annoyance. "And why did you point your wand at me? I could've been a so-called Muggle."

"Finally," a dark-haired boy with round-shaped glasses whom reminded Syaoran so much of Eriol sighed with relief. "We couldn't understand you before. And we recognized you to be a student because you're wearing robes from Madam Malkin's. Anyway, platform 9 ¾ is that metal pillar between platforms 9 and 10. All you have to do is run through that wall."

_Then why can't we just use the Through Card for that? _Syaoran thought, glancing over at Sakura. Having heard them, Sakura nodded, also thinking the same thing. "Okay…." He pivoted around to face the wall, his amber eyes in deep focus. Gripping his luggage cart, he charged at the wall, disappearing right through it.

"Mou, matte, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura cried as she ran in after Syaoran.

"Who is that girl? She's pretty cute," the red-haired boy gaped as he watched the Japanese girl run through the barrier.

"Oh, shut up, Ron. I think the boy who talked to us is her boyfriend," Hermione shook her head. "And I think the girl is Japanese."

White wings encased Yukito's body, parting to reveal Yue. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the three children that Syaoran had been talking to a few minutes ago, gaping up at him with wide eyes, their jaws open in shock. He ignored them as he flew through the wall, his majestic white wings leaving stray feathers behind. Strangely, the Muggles didn't seem to notice. In Japan, people would've noticed if anything strange happened.

Hermione couldn't believe what she just saw. "D-Did you just see that? Just now? A Muggle transforming into….that!"

Ron nodded. "You're not the only one. What is he? And those two seem to fit in well with the Muggle World. I think they're half-blood like you, Harry. That, or they are Muggle-born."

Harry frowned as he shouted to both his friends, "Alright, you two can gawk over that when we're ON THE TRAIN! Now let's go!" Gripping the luggage cart with his hands, he ran across the barrier, making it through to the other side. Ron and Hermione followed after him.

On the other side, an arc-way sign read "Platform 9 ¾" in gold letters on red background. Sakura gazed around with wonder. A scarlet train stood majestically on the train tracks. On the front, there was a green sign with golden lettering that read "Hogwarts Express." Hearing the excited chattering from other students, she smiled. She suddenly felt someone nudge her gently, and a voice whispering, "Let's get on now."

Nodding, Sakura stepped up onto the train, Syaoran and Yue trailing behind her. Syaoran glanced left and right, searching for an empty compartment in which they could have their privacy. Finally finding one near the back, he gestured for Sakura and Yue to go in. Once inside, Sakura decided to lift up the windows and poke out her head. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Eriol, smiling at them from a few distances away, his blue eyes twinkling from behind his glasses. Sakura waved.

"Eriol-kun!"

"Have fun, Sakura-san, cute little descendant!" Eriol waved back.

Syaoran snarled grumpily as he poked his head out the window next to Sakura. "I AM NOT YOUR CUTE LITTLE DESCENDANT!! ONCE I LEARN ENOUGH, I WILL BEAT THAT SENSELESS BRAIN OF YOURS INTO A PULP, YOU NO GOOD EXCUSE FOR A CLOW REINCARNATION!!"

"Ano, Syaoran-kun? People are staring at you," Sakura whispered.

"Eh?" Syaoran looked around to see people on and off the Hogwarts Express staring strangely at him. Embarrassed, he sat back down, his face red.

The whistle then started to blow, the piston hissing and filling the platform as the train slowly came to life and moved. "Oh, I guess we're going now," Sakura said quietly, feeling the motion of the train.

The three of them sat quietly inside, not uttering a word. Sakura stared out the window, watching the sceneries go by. Minutes into the train ride, a little woman pushing a cart came past their compartment. She smiled at them (and gaped at Yue) and asked, "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

"We're not really--" Sakura began, but all of a sudden, Kero flew out of her bag as he flew up to the woman's face, startling her.

"DO YOU CARRY ANY PUDDING IN THERE?!"

Angry, Sakura grabbed Kero by his tail and pulled him back. "Kero-chan!"

Shaking his head, Syaoran sighed. He then glanced up at the now-boggle-eyed and confused witch. It was as if they were the strangest group of people she had ever met. He cleared his throat before asking, "Do you have any chocolate?"

The woman stared at them, dazed, then shook her head to snap herself out of it. "Huh? What? Oh, oh yes! Chocolate frogs. Very delicious." She gave a small pouch of chocolate frogs to Syaoran, who paid her in galleons. Syaoran also bought some licorice wands, cauldron cakes, pumpkin juice, and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans just in case they ever got hungry. Greedy as ever, Kero snatched one of the beans and popped it in his mouth, only to throw it up out the window a second later.

"THAT IS NASTY. WHAT IS THIS?!"

Syaoran doubled over in laughter. "Stupid plush toy! It's Bertie Botts _EVERY FLAVOUR BEAN._ Meaning that it has the taste of everything in the world, including unedible and disgusting things. And according to the list of flavours on here, you…laughter….just ate…..laughter….a VOMIT-FLAVOURED BEAN." He laughed so hard that his ribs began to hurt, tears streaming out of his eyes. Seeing Sakura give him a look of disproval, he stopped. He then stared at the card that he had pulled out of the box. On the card was a picture of an old man wearing wizardry clothing, with long white beard and piercing blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles. Syaoran did a double-take as the old man disappeared suddenly from the card. "Hey, where'd he go?"

"Go where?" Sakura asked, confused.

"There was an old geezer on this card who stared up at me, and then he just disappeared!" Syaoran cried, turning the box every which way.

"Maybe you're seeing things?"

"I wasn't!" Syaoran protested. He sighed as he pulled out the chocolate frog from the box. His eyes twitched irritably when the chocolate frog's legs moved. "I-I-I'm not eating a live animal, am I?"

"Don't worry," a voice spoke. Sakura, Syaoran, Kero, and Yue glanced up to see Hermione, Ron, and Harry standing in front of their compartment. The voice had beloned to the brunette girl. "All wizard candy are animated. Though you'd have to eat it quickly before it jumps away."

"Hmm…." Syaoran popped the chocolate frog into his mouth. His face turned dreamy at the sweet taste of chocolate. "Mm, chocolate."

Sakura giggled. "He loves chocolate. And my name's Kinomoto Sakura."

"Li Syaoran," Syaoran muttered.

"These are my guardians, Yue-san and Kero-chan. Kero-chan's true form is a lion with big wings, like Yue-san's. This is just his disguise form. Yue-san's disguise form is Yukito-san, my big brother's best friend." Sakura gestured towards Yue and Kero. Kero gave a small bow while Yue just stared at them blankly and coldly.

"Odd group of people," Ron muttered. "Are your names really Kinomoto and Li? I can understand the Li part, but Kinomoto's kind of a long and hard name to remember."

"Pfft. My first name has the same amount of letters as Kinomoto," Hermione pointed out.

Sakura giggled again. "No. It's just how we say our names in Asia. Surname first, then the given name. My given name is Sakura and his is Syaoran."

"Oh!" Hermione cried excitedly. "You two must be the new exchange students! Tell me, what is it like in Asia? Is Asian magic different from European magic?"

Sakura frowned. "I…don't know?"

Hermione seemed disappointed. She shook her head after a while and said, "I'm Hermione Granger. Pleasure."

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron introduced. He gaped at Sakura. She looked really pretty. Was she a veela or something? He never seen one or met one, but if she was, it might be his first chance to see one. Catching Syaoran's glare, he instantly backed away.

Harry sighed. "You probably should know who I am."

"Hoe? No, we don't," Sakura said, blinking with confusion.

Harry gaped in shock as he stared at Sakura. "Y-You don't know?"

Sakura and Syaoran shook their heads. Harry let out a sigh of relief as he introduced himself. "I'm Harry Potter. I'm kind of famous at Hogwarts, and the entire Wizarding World."

"Ah, no wonder you expected us to know you," Kero said.

"Ignore him. He's just a greedy stuffed toy who has an unhealthy obsession for sweets," Syaoran scoffed.

"What did you just call me, Chinese brat?!" Kero spat. He then cleared his throat as he grinned innocently up at the three teenagers.

Hermione looked at Yue. "Just earlier, we saw you transform from a Muggle man into……that. May I ask what you are?"

"Long story," Syaoran answered. "And he doesn't talk much."

"Oh…..well, we better get to our compartments. Come along, Ron, Harry," Hermione said as she turned and left them.

Syaoran sighed as he leaned back against his seat. "Finally, some peace and quiet."

Just as soon as he said that, the train suddenly was engulfed in darkness. Syaoran could hear a loud 'hoe' as he felt Sakura clutch herself tightly to him. Getting defensive, he glanced around cautiously. The air suddenly became cold as the windows suddenly froze over. Catching a glimpse of a rotten, scaly hand creeping across the windowpane, Syaoran reacted quickly.

"Sakura, use the Shield Card!"

"Hai!" came her reply. "SHIELD!"

A protective shield enclosed over the small train compartment. Then taking out his paper seal, he struck the tip of his sword against it. "God of fire, answer my call!" A small flicker of flame appeared on the paper seal, lighting up the compartment a bit. Sakura glanced around, then saw a hooded figure floating above them and panicked.

"Hoeeeee!"

"Shadow….janai…" Syaoran muttered, gazing up at the strange shadowy-cloaked creature that so resembled the Shadow Card.

The creature tried to push itself past the protective Shield, but ultimately failed. It was like the shield was a new form of magic it had never encountered before. Syaoran raised his sword and struck it at the creature, yelling at the same time, "Raitei Shourai!" Sparks of lightning cackled from his sword and exploded onto the creature, sending it back away from them.

"N-nani ka?" Kero stared at the place where the creature had been. Hearing a commotion, he peeked his tiny yellow head out their compartment door. Seeing two people trying to help what looked like Harry Potter up, he turned his head back towards Sakura and Syaoran. "Hey, something's up with that Potter kid we met earlier."

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

Sakura and Syaoran rushed over to Harry's compartment. They saw Harry being slapped across the face, as if someone was trying to snap him back to his sense. Of course, they couldn't see if it was Ron or Hermione who was doing it. They watched as Harry's friends lifted him back up onto his seat.

"Are you okay?" they heard Ron ask.

Sakura couldn't help but join in. "Potter-kun, daijoubu?"

Harry nodded. "What happened? Where's that thing? Who screamed?"

Sakura shuddered. "You saw it too?"

"I think everyone did," Hermione frowned.

"But I didn't hear any screaming," Ron frowned.

All of a sudden, a loud snap caused them all to jump. Sakura and Syaoran spun around to see a man with grayish brown hair handing them each a piece of chocolate, giving the largest piece to Harry. Syaoran felt jealous that Harry got the big piece, because he loved chocolate. Without a moment of hesitation, he quickly gobbled up the chocolate.

"What was that?" Sakura wondered.

"That was a dementor," Lupin explained. "It's one of the dementors of Azkaban."

"Azkaban?" Sakura asked in confusion.

Hermione nodded. "It's a wizard prison. It's dark, lonely, filthy, a terrible place to be. Are you sure you're okay, Harry?"

Harry nodded, though a bit unsure about the situation a few seconds ago. "I don't get it. What happened?"

Sakura and Syaoran listened as Hermione and Ron explained Harry's strange behavior around the Dementor, and how the man, Professor Lupin, pulled out his wand and commanded them to leave because Sirius Black was not there with them, but when they didn't leave, a silvery thing shot out of his wand and chased them away.

Syaoran folded his arms. "Silvery thing, huh? I just threw lightning at them."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Professor Lupin all turned to stare at him as if he was crazy. Syaoran just shrugged as he casually walked back to his compartment, rejoining Kero and Yue. Sakura stayed behind with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lupin. Lupin disappeared down the corridors a few moments later. She could hear pieces of their conversations, and how Ron described the Dementors to bring a strange feeling to them and made them feel like they could never be happy again. She shuddered. What a terrible feeling! She loved being so cheerful that she couldn't think about what would happen to her if she encountered the Dementors again. Hearing footsteps, she glanced up. Professor Lupin had come back.

"I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know," he said to Harry with a small smile. Harry held the chocolate up to his mouth and ate it. Professor Lupin then announced that they would reach Hogwarts in ten minutes.

Sakura turned to Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "Well, I guess I should go back to my compartment. See you when we get there!" Turning around, she ran back towards her compartment. Syaoran lit up upon seeing her come back inside. Hermione laughed as she shook her head, staring after the energetic Japanese girl.

"That Sakura is energetic and upbeat," she commented.

"It's like the Dementors didn't affect her. And how can Syaoran hit it with lightning?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. But we can ask them after the Sorting," Harry replied.


	4. House Sorting

Ch. 4: House Sorting

EDIT: To the recent anonymous person who reviewed me: Yes, I know wizards and witches can't use magic outside of Hogwarts because they are under-age. BUT. Sakura and Syaoran are not wizards/witches. They are sorcerer/sorceress. They've exposed magic in front of public (like in front of Tomoyo. She's a freakin' Muggle) before at the age of 10-12. If they were punished for underage magic during their card-capturing days, Tomoyo wouldn't have been supporting Sakura all the way through.

* * *

"First years this way!"

The Hogwarts Express had finally reached Hogwarts. The First-Years all crowded around Hagrid, who held a lantern over them. Sakura and Syaoran glanced around, wondering where they should go. Yue and Kero were behind them, Kero looking awed at the giant castle before them. Without a care, Yue kept his eyes straight ahead. Catching sight of them, Hagrid called out, "Sakura! Syaoran! Over here!"

Emerald orbs lit up as Sakura ran up to the half-giant. "Hagrid-san!" she grinned, just as Syaoran, Kero, and Yue caught up to her.

Hagrid stared at the two guardians. "They seem ter follow you around, don't they?"

"They're supposed to." Sakura giggled. "My big brother assigned Yukito-san/Yue-san to help watch over me. He'd freak if something happened to me."

"Ha. You can defend yourself," Syaoran scoffed. "I know you can."

Hagrid let out a laugh as he led them onto the boats, then took them across the Black Lake to the Hogwarts Entrance Hall. Sakura and Syaoran gazed up at the Scottish-structured castle in amazement. It was the largest castle they had ever seen. Inside, probably a million other students occupied the magical castle. They could hear chattering and laughing as Hagrid magically made the door swing open by itself. He led the way as the first-years, Sakura, Syaoran, Yue, and Kero stepped/floated through. She saw Harry and Hermione being whisked away somewhere as a voice shouted for them to come to their office.

Sakura turned to face Yue. "Yue-san, you can turn back into Yukito-san now. It's alright."

"I'm fine like this, mistress," Yue answered coolly.

Sakura frowned. "It's not mistress. It's Sakura. I don't want to be called mistress." She followed the rest of the first-years into the Great Hall. She saw that the older students had already been seated. At the staff table, an elderly man seated at the center, his blue-eyes gleaming behind his half-moon spectacles. Sakura felt nervous as all eyes fell on the first-years, but more on Yue. His silvery-white hair trailed down to his feet, his cold icy-blue eyes staring back at them. He had pure white wings tucked in at his side, and wore extravagant white and blue clothing. In the center of his robe was a large sapphire jewel. Even some of the staff members couldn't help but stare.

"Do you think _he's_ going to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?!" one student asked.

"I don't know," another answered in a dreamy-like voice. "But I hope so!"

"Kinomoto, Sakura!"

"H-Hai!" Sakura responded as she walked up to the front. She looked around, then glanced down at the tiny wizard who held out a ragged cone hat with a rip near the brims. She blinked, confused. She had forgotten what she was supposed to do. "A-ano…what am I supposed to do?"

"Take a seat on that stool, and I'll put the hat on your head. The Sorting Hat will put you into one of the four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw."

"Hoe…." came Sakura's answer as she sat nervously on the stool. She could hear excited chattering of boys as they looked her way, unable to take their eyes off her. She laughed nervously. She didn't expect such attention. Seeing Syaoran smiling at her from where she sat, she waved excitedly. "Syao-kun!" Just as she said that, she felt something being slammed down on her head, followed by a voice murmuring in her ears.

"Ah, yes. You are very kind and compassionate--" the Sorting Hat spoke, but was suddenly interrupted.

"HOEEEEEEEEEEEE!! THE HAT TALKS!" Sakura cried loudly, causing a few students to giggle, snort, snicker, and laugh.

The tiny wizard, Professor Flitwick, sighed. "Yes, the hat talks. Now please calm down!"

Sakura nodded. Professor Flitwick put the hat back onto her head. _Gomen. I've never met a talking hat before. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble. _

_It's perfectly alright. I haven't had such excitement in a long time, _the Sorting Hat thought back. It then continued to evaluate her. "Energetic, modest, loved by everyone you encounter, underestimate of your own abilities, loyal, brave, dedicated, motivated by your friends and family….I might consider you to be in Hufflepuff. Oh, what's this? A Cardmistress?"

"How'd you know?" Sakura asked.

"I invade your mind, alright?" the Sorting Hat answered, a bit annoyed. "You just love to interrupt me, don't you, child?"

"Gomen. Ano….I would very much like to be with my new friends Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, whatever house they're in. I don't know anyone else here, and I think they'd make me feel more welcome here…."

"Don't worry," the hat spoke. "You'll gain friends sooner or later. I know you will. But if you really want to be with them, I guess that would put you in…..GRYFFINDOR!!" The Gryffindor table burst into cheers and applauses as Sakura took off the hat and joined them. Ron slapped hi-fives with her and introduced her to his little sister Ginny, his older twin brothers Fred and George, and his eldest brother and prefect, Percy.

"You have a big family," Sakura giggled.

Seconds later, Syaoran was seated right next to Sakura, having been placed in Gryffindor as well. He told her about how the hat considered placing him in Slytherin because of his past behavior and obsession for power, but in the end, placed him in Gryffindor because his personality was now held the traits of a Gryffindor--chivalrous, daring, bravery, and protective. The two sorcerers then watched as the elderly man, Professor Dumbledore, greet them with warmth. Minutes after the Sorting ended, Harry Potter and Hermione arrived back into the Great Hall. Sakura greeted them cheerfully. Harry and Hermione lit up upon seeing her and Syaoran at their table.

"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" he exclaimed. He went on to explain how the school would be guarded by Dementors(which he did not seem happy about) that will be stationed at every entrance, and that no one is to leave the school without permission. After further explanation, he went on to the teachers. He expressed gratitude and happiness towards the two new teachers, Professor Lupin and Rubeus Hagrid, whom will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. Sakura could see hatred rising up in one of the teacher's eyes as Professor Lupin was announced the new DADA teacher. What was his problem? She turned to Ron's sister, Ginny.

"Ano….what's his problem?" she asked, pointing to the teacher dressed in full-black with greasy-looking black hair. "The teacher that looks like he hasn't showered in a hundred years."

Overhearing that, Fred and George burst out laughing. "Well, that's one way to describe him. He's Professor Snape, the Potions master, head of Slytherin House. A total git, if I may say. He favors his own house out of all the houses, and gives the other houses a hard time." Fred replied.

"Ah, I see," Syaoran said. He then stared back and forth between Fred and George. "So how do I tell you two apart?"

"I'm funnier," Fred exclaimed proudly.

"No, I am!" George cried.

"I'm taller, handsomer, smarter, and more popular!" Fred boasted.

"Alright, you win in those points," George frowned. He then turned his head towards Syaoran. "You'd have to know us long enough to tell us apart. People don't usually tell us apart the first time they meet us. Even mother can't tell us apart sometimes!"

After the announcements had ended, the golden plates and goblets suddenly filled up with delicious gourmet food such as bacon and steak, beef casserole, roast beef, roast chicken, sandwiches, sausages, sprouts, steak, stew, casserole, Yorkshire Pudding, carrots, chips (French fries), baked pumpkins, and fried tomatoes. There were also sushi, tempura, onigiri, kare raisu (curry rice), fried rice, chazuke, sashimi, yakitori, yakizakana, udon noodles, soba noodles, yakisoba, ramen, taiyaki, miso soup, agedashi tofu, korokke, gyoza dumplings, tsukemono, Chinese sausages, tofu pudding, peking duck, curry chicken, dim sum, omelette with fried rice, hot and sour soup, peking barbeque, green tea, and an assorted array of Asian cuisine to fit Sakura and Syaoran's tastes.

"Oishii!" Sakura cried as she ate the omelette with fried rice. "My favorite dish as well!"

Syaoran agreed with her as he took a bite out of his dim sum. "Hěnhǎo chī."

"So what classes do you have?" Harry suddenly asked.

"Oh, I have Divination, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Flying, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfigurations," Sakura replied.

"I've got the same thing as her, except that instead of Muggle Studies, I'm taking Arithmancy," Syaoran said.

"I hope we end up in the same classes," Sakura grinned.

"Aren't Divination, Muggle Studies, and Arithmancy all at the same time?" Ron frowned, shooting a look at Hermione. "They're all at 9am."

Sakura and Syaoran glanced each other and grinned, knowing exactly what to do in cases like this. Sakura could use the Mirror Card and have her mirrored form go to Muggle Studies, and use the Twin Card to make a duplicate of Syaoran so Syaoran's "twin" could go to Arithmancy. It was an easy and unfaultable plan.

That night, Hermione and Ginny introduced Sakura to the other girls in their dorm, whereas Harry and Ron introduced Syaoran to the other boys. Within the girls' dorm, Sakura giggled as they told her amazing stories about Hogwarts and the Wizarding World that she was oblivious to until now, as well as the scary ones (to which Sakura curled up under the blanket in fear and wished Syaoran was there).

The next morning, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sakura, and Syaoran entered the Divination classroom settled high on the North Tower (Sakura and Syaoran getting a lift from Yue and Kero). The classroom looked like an attic and a tea-shop, with twenty small and circular tables. Armchairs surrounded the tables. The classroom was lit up with dimmed red lights, and the curtains had all been closed. There were countless crystal balls, a large assortment of teacups, candles, books, and playing cards on the shelves that aligned the walls.

"Welcome to Divination!" Professor Sibyll Trelawney announced in a misty-like voice as she appeared in the classroom from out of nowhere. She was clad in many beady necklaces and bangles, and wore large glasses. "My name is Professor Trelawney." She went on to boast about her Inner Eye. Syaoran scoffed as he glanced away. Inner Eye, pfft! He could already tell that Professor Trelawney was a fraud in what she was doing simply by what she just said. He saw Hermione looking downcast upon the fact that they wouldn't use books much for the class. He figured that she must love reading. Professor Trelawney explained the course outline of the year, such as how they were going to look at tea leaves the first term, and crystal balls the second term after finishing with fire omens. She also explained how in February, she was going to get sick with a flu (which Syaoran also scoffed to) and not be there. She made a few predictions to some students, then instructed the class what to do with their tea cups and tea leaves. Soon, the entire class was doing what they were directed to do.

"What do you see in mine?" Sakura asked Syaoran.

Syaoran leaned back in his chair. "You will befriend someone new, someone whom everyone believes is a criminal, but isn't. You have great powers, powers no one has ever dreamed of. Yeah, yeah, no one here except us knows about the cards…..And your cell phone will ring in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

Right on cue, Sakura's phone rang. She stared at the Chinese sorcerer with awe, mouthing 'how' as she picked up her cell phone. Amazingly, the cell phone seemed to work in Hogwarts despite the technology-free structure of the school. Syaoran just shrugged.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Konnichiwa, Sakura-san."

"Eriol-kun!"

"How is your day at Hogwarts?"

"Oh, it's great! And how come my phone works here? I thought the school is Muggle technology-free!"

Eriol chuckled. "Why, I enchanted both yours and Li-kun's phones while you two were sleeping at my house."

"YOU WHAT?!" Syaoran screamed as he snatched the phone from Sakura. "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION, YOU STUPID EXCUSE FOR A CLOW REINCARNATION?!"

"Syaoran, everyone's staring," Sakura whispered.

"Hehe, sorry," Syaoran apologized as he handed the phone back to Sakura. Sakura spoke a few more words with Eriol, then got off. Seeing all eyes on her and Syaoran, she felt a sweatdrop on her head. "Hoeee…."

"Who was that?" Hermione asked.

"Hiiragizawa Eriol-kun. A really good magician," Sakura proclaimed happily. "He's really good at magic."

"Why isn't he here with us?" Ron inquired curiously.

"He knows more than what they teach here, apparently," Sakura replied.

"Really? That's so cool!" Hermione cried. "I'd love to meet him."

"I'll introduce you guys to him someday!" Sakura exclaimed brightly. "He's a great guy!"

"With a personality of a Slytherin," Syaoran muttered.

"Does he use his powers for evil?" Ron frowned.

Sakura shook her head wildly. "Iie, iie! Eriol-kun uses his powers mischievously and wrecked my hometown as a way to get me to get better with my magic!" She tried her best to avoid saying that he wrecked havoc on Tomoeda just to get her to convert all the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. "He never meant any harm at all!"

"Ano, I think we should focus back on the class," Syaoran whispered.

"Eh?" Sakura looked around once again to see the other students still staring at them. "Hoe. Yeah, I think we should."

"Well, that was a bit interesting," Ron said as he turned back around in his chair to face Harry. He turned _Unfogging the Future _to the assigned pages that Professor Trelawney gave them. Harry did the same thing. "What can you see in mine?"

They could all hear Professor Trelawney as she instructed them to broaden their minds and let their eyes see past the mundane. Syaoran rolled his eyes for the third time. He gave a sideways glance at Hermione. She also seemed disappointed with how the class was taught, and also seemed to believe that Professor Trelawney was nothing but a fraud. He could hear Harry telling Ron about what he saw in his tea leaves, followed by Ron remarking that Harry needed his Inner Eye checked. He tried to stifle a laughter as Professor Trelawney turned to look at Harry and Ron.

"I wonder what's going on over there?" Sakura wondered.

"Yeah," Syaoran agreed.

Now it was Harry's turn. Ron stared into Harry's cup with great concentration, trying to unravel what Harry's tealeaves formed. Finally, he came to the conclusion that the tea leaves formed a Bowler Hat or an acorn, a windfall, and either a hippo or a sheep. Sakura stared at Harry as he snorted loudly, laughing hard. Professor Trelawney also whirled around in that direction. She demanded to see the cup. Once Harry gave her his cup, she examined it carefully. None of what she said about his tealeaves were positive. The most shocking thing that came out of Professor Trelawney's mouth was when she concluded Harry's future.

"Oh, dear, it seems like you have the Grim. A sign of death!" she cried out.

"OBJECTION, PROFESSOR!" Syaoran shouted as he stood up and pointed his index finger at Professor Trelawney. "Harry Potter doesn't seem like he's going to croak at any minute!"

The class snorted with laughter at Syaoran's remark. Professor Trelawney, however, didn't seem very amused. "Tea leaves are not to be made fun of, Mr. Li. They are a very serious matter."

"Yeah, and next period in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall is probably going to say that you start the year with death threats, I believe," Syaoran snorted sarcastically. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Sakura all glanced in his direction, a look of shock on their faces. Sakura was the most impressed with Syaoran's prediction skills. However, neither the four of them knew if what he said right there and then was going to be true or not. At the same time, Sakura was wondering how the Mirror Card was faring in Muggle Studies. She figured the Mirror was having a much better time in that class than she was in Divination. Sakura also wondered how Syaoran's "twin" was doing in Arithmancy.

Unfortunately, Syaoran's sarcastic remark proved to be true as Professor McGonagall explained to them in Transfiguration about how Professor Trelawney loved starting the year out with making death threats after nobody said a word about Professor McGonagall morphed from a cat into herself. Heads whipped around to gaze in Syaoran's direction. He just shrugged as he stared out the window, then back at Professor McGonagall. She taught them about animagi, witches and wizards with the ability to turn into an animal at will.


	5. Classes

Ch. 5: Classes

* * *

"That was a good lunch," Sakura exclaimed after they left the Great Hall with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. During their lunchtime, Transfiguration was the subject everyone at the Gryffindor table wanted to talk about. Syaoran and Hermione had gone into a fiery debate with Ron about how the Grim was the cause of death and not a death omen. Hermione seemed pretty glad that there was someone else who agreed with her that Professor Trelawney's lessons were rubbish.

"I'll say," Syaoran muttered. He poked his head out a little further to look at the trio. "So what do we have next?"

"We have Care of Magical Creatures next. I hope you two brought your books," Hermione answered.

Syaoran furrowed his eyebrows. "The book with teeth that I threatened to burn at the bookstore in Diagon Alley when I bought it?"

"If you're talking about _The Monster Book of Monsters_, then yes, that's the one," Harry said, giving Syaoran an odd look.

As they walked down towards Hagrid's Hut (after Sakura and Syaoran fetched their books), Ron and Hermione avoided talking to each other. Sakura sighed. How often did they get into fights like these? Syaoran already had waved the incident at lunch away, and was conversing with Ron. As they neared the hut, Hagrid called out to them to hurry up. When the five of them reached his hut, Hagrid lead them around a couple of trees until they reached a paddock. He then instructed them to open their books.

"How?" Draco Malfoy, a blonde Slytherin, drawled. "How do we open this?"

"Threaten it, glare at it, make it feel intimidated" Syaoran exclaimed, giving his book a death glare. The book, feeling intimidated by its owner's fierce glare and not wanting to have its precious pages burned to a crisp, stayed silently still without moving. "Works every time for me."

"Actually, the best way to calm the books down is to stroke it," Hagrid told him and the rest of the class. He demonstrated, running his giant fingers down the spine of the book. The book fell peacefully quiet.

"Oh, right, we should've stroked them!" Draco sneered sarcastically. "I'd say Li's method is better."

Harry raised an eyebrow. Did he just hear right? Did Draco Malfoy actually say he preferred a Gryffindor's method of opening the _Monster Book of Monsters_? He glared at his archrival as Draco went on about how the big idiot gave them dangerous, hand-ripping books. He muttered quietly for Draco to shut up as Hagrid said a few words before running off to fetch whatever magical creature they were going to learn today.

"I'm excited," Sakura exclaimed. "I've never encountered a magical creature before, except for Kero-chan."

Kero suddenly flew out of her bag and floated before her and Syaoran. "You all should learn about me, the awesome and greatest Guardian Beast!"

Syaoran snorted with laughter. "Oh, sure, I can so imagine it, plushie! Cerberus, the Sun Guardian of the Clow Cards, now known as the Sakura Cards, fell asleep for 300 years after the death of Clow Cards creator, Clow Reed. Note how lazy the beast is. When he is not in his true form, his form takes that of a pathetic-looking stuffed animal that resembles that of a cross between a lion and a teddy bear with wings. His true form is a lion with wings. His favorite food is sweets, and warning to you all, never give this stupid and lazy toy sweets, because he will ask for more, the greedy idiot."

A vein throbbed in Kero's head as he raised his small fist. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"I think I just summarized your whole life in a nutshall," Syaoran snarled.

"SYAORAN-KUN, KERO-CHAN!" Sakura cried as she stepped in between them, tugging on Kero's tail and pulling him back. She gave Syaoran a warning look. Syaoran rolled his eyes as he turned away from Kero. During Syaoran and Kero's argument, Hagrid had come back with a creature that looked like it was half-horse, half-bird. Hagrid introduced the creature to be a Hippogriff. Sakura stared in awe at the majestic creature standing before her. Its coat gleamed brightly from feather to hair, each feather and hair a different shade of color.

"If yer want ter come a bit nearer…." Hagrid started, but the class immediately began backing away. Only the trio and the two sorcerers approached the fence cautiously. Sakura stared up into the Hippogriff's eyes from where she stood. It gazed back at her, considering. She then focused her attention on Hagrid as he explained to them about how to approach a Hippogriff safely. The bowing part sounded easy to her. She hoped to get a chance to get up and close to the Hippogriff.

Instead, Harry went first. Sakura watched from her place as Harry did exactly what he was instructed to do. It took a short while before the Hippogriff allowed Harry to get close to it, and before Hagrid lifted Harry up onto the Hippogriff for flight. Wind picked up around the students as the Hippogriff tore through the trees, ascending with each step, until it was high in the air. Seeing the malicious look in Draco's eyes, Sakura frowned as she turned around to look at him.

"Why do you have a problem with Harry-kun?"

Draco blinked. He didn't really notice her until now. "We're enemies, that's why. Anyway, I'm hoping this lesson turns out to be a failure. I can't stand having that big-headed idiot teaching this class. I don't think we've met before. I'm Draco Malfoy."

Sakura smiled serenely. Draco grimaced a bit. He didn't expect such warmness from a Gryffindor. "I'm Kinomoto Sakura. And that's mean!"

Draco just let out a laugh as he turned away from her.

Moments later, Harry had returned to ground level as the Hippogriff, Buckbeak came to a stop at exactly the right place where Harry approached it. Sakura went next as she approached the Hippogriff with a bubbly attitude, bowing respectively as she clasped her hands together in front of her. She hoped Buckbeak would accept her bow. Fortunately, it did, and allowed the Card Mistress to stroke its beak and feathers. Sakura giggled with delight as she ran her fingers down the Hippogriff's feathers, then patted its beak gently. She waved to Syaoran.

"Syaoran-kun! You should try this next!"

"A-ah," Syaoran said, turning a bit red in the face.

"Uwaah, sugoi!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Sakura seems at ease with the Hippogriff," Ron said as he watched Sakura enjoy her moment with the creature.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah. It also looks like its enjoying her touch as well."

By the time everyone had their turn with the Hippogriffs, Draco and his two friends Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle remained. Draco approached the Hippogriff and patted its beak with great disgust.

"Yes, you're not dangerous at all, aren't you, you great ugly brute?" he sneered menacingly at the Buckbeak

As soon as he said that, Buckbeak reared itself on its hind legs, its front talons flashing, as it scratched Draco. Blood spilled from his robes as Draco laid on the grass, whimpering in pain about how he was dying and how Buckbeak had "killed" him. Sakura noticed the long bloody gash on the Slytherin boy's arm as Hagrid carried him towards the castle.

"I hope he's alright," she said worriedly.

After Hagrid left, the class went into a discussion about Hagrid. Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl, wanted very much for Hagrid to be fired, whereas Dean Thomas retorted back at her that it was Draco's fault for ruining the lesson. It wasn't until late on the next Thursday morning that Draco finally came out of recovery from the Hospital Wing and came to Potions, his arm in a sling.

"Does it hurt?" Pansy asked sympathetically.

"Yeah," Draco lied, pretending to put on a brave face. He laughed when he sat down with his mates.

"Malfoy-kun, are you sure you're alright?" Sakura whispered to him from where she sat.

"Yes!" Draco hissed back to her.

"Settle down, settle down." Professor Snape said casually as he waved his hand.

That morning, they learned about the Shrinking Solution. Draco set his cauldron up next to Harry and Ron just to give them a hard time as they prepared their ingredients. Raising his free hand up into the air, Draco called for Professor Snape to help him cut his roots. Professor Snape gave Ron the assignment of doing so. Ron took his knife and chopped Draco's roots unevenly. Draco smirked once again as he called on Professor Snape and complained about his roots being cut up unaccordingly.

"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley," Snape ordered as he approached their table.

"But--!" Ron protested.

"Draco can trade with me," Sakura suggested as she approached Draco with her perfectly-chopped roots and placed them in front of him. "No problem, ne, Malfoy-kun?"

Draco stared at her. "WHY are you being so nice to me? Gryffindors are supposed to be enemies with us Slytherins! You're a strange witch, you know that?"

Sakura just smiled at him, then bounced back to her table, where she continued cutting up the rest of her extra roots that she hadn't cut yet. Draco was so wrong about her being a witch, but she decided to let that pass. Nobody was supposed to know that she was a sorceress, nonetheless Cardmistress of the Sakura Cards, previously known as the Clow Cards, yet.

"Sir, I need this shrivelfig skinned!" Draco laughed as he gave Harry and Ron a look of malice.

"I'll do that," Syaoran growled as he skinned Draco's shrivelfig all within five seconds, his hands moving gracefully and quickly. He then sat back down with Sakura.

Near the end of class, Professor Snape demonstrated the Shrinking Solution on Neville Longbottom's toad. It was a success, but Professor Snape deducted five points from Gryffindor because Hermione gave aid to Neville, and dismissed class afterwards. Unfortunately, he had to give five points back to Gryffindor, because Syaoran was the only one who stayed back after class dismissal, still working on his Shrinking Solution. His solution proved to be a success as he tossed the shrunken frog onto Professor Snape's desk and left the classroom without a word.

After lunch, they all went to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where they waited a curiously long time for Professor Lupin to show up. He arrived in the classroom, looking as shabby as ever. He smiled at them as he led them down the corridors to another classroom. Peeves was doing his mischievous deeds, stuffing the nearest door with chewing gum.

"Hoeeee! A ghost!" Sakura cried fearfully.

"Aw, is the little girl afraid of me?" Peeves taunted as he floated up close to the frightened Cardmistress.

"GO AWAY!!" Sakura screamed as she waved her arms frantically and ran to hide behind Syaoran, tears now running down her cheeks.

"Sakura, there are ghosts who haunt the school. Didn't you notice Nearly-Headless Nick or the Bloody Baron or the Grey Lady or the Fat Friar? Or that our History of Magic teacher was a ghost?" Harry frowned.

Sakura shook her head wildly. "I didn't notice them. And I didn't know Professor Binns was a ghost! Hoeeee!"

A/N: Wow, this was a short chapter. Next chapter, everyone, as you all know, will be learning about Boggarts! If anyone has better suggestions for Syaoran's Boggart than his old childhood fear of getting married to Meiling, I'm up for suggestions.

* * *


	6. Boggarts!

Ch. 6: Boggarts!

* * *

"This is a useful little spell. Please watch closely," Lupin sighed as he glanced over his shoulder at the class. He pointed his wand at Peeves. "_Waddiwasi!"_

All of a sudden, the chewing gum blasted itself back at Peeves, clogging his left nostril. The class laughed, whereas Sakura continued to whimper in fear.

"Cool, sir," Dean Thomas commented to Professor Lupin.

"Why, thank you, Dean!" Professor Lupin acknowledged with a smile. "Shall we proceed?"

He led the class down another corridor until they reached the staffroom. He led them inside, standing aside to let the class file in. Sakura and Syaoran glanced around. Sitting in a low armchair, Professor Snape glanced up when the class came in. His mouth curved up into a sneer upon seeing them. When Professor Lupin proceeded to close the door, Professor Snape told him to leave it open, for he didn't want to witness what was going to happen in the class. But before he left the staffroom, he turned back and warned Lupin about Neville Longbottom.

"I was actually hoping he would help me with the first stage of the operation," Professor Lupin replied calmly with amusement in his eyes.

Professor Snape glared at him before slamming the door behind him.

"Now then." Professor Lupin beckoned the class to come towards the end of the room. At the end of the room was an old wardrobe that gave a wobble, making a banging sound on the wall. Sakura gave a soft yelp as she latched herself to Syaoran's arm. Syaoran sighed loudly as he shook his head.

"Don't worry," Professor Lupin assured the class upon seeing the class jump in alarm. "There's a boggart in there."

"B-B-B-B-B-Boggarts? Is that some kind of g-g-g-g-gho-ghost?" Sakura squeaked, her emerald eyes staring at the rattling wardrobe with terror. Neville Longbottom felt the same way as her, and Seamus Finnigan eyed the wardrobe cautiously.

"Not at all," Professor Lupin replied to Sakura. "Boggarts like dark and closed places. Examples are wardrobes, the gap between beds, cupboards under sinks--I even met one yesterday that lodged itself inside a grandfather's clock. This one just moved in yesterday afternoon. I asked the headmaster to leave it here for my third years to practice. But aside from that, the first question we should ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?"

"It's a shapeshifter," Hermione spoke up, raising her hand. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks frightens us most."

"HOOOOOEEEEEEEEEE!!" Sakura shrieked as she shook her head wildly. "Count me out of this! I don't want to experience more of them!" By 'them', she was referring to ghosts.

"Sakura, onegai, calm down!" Syaoran cried as he grabbed her shoulders and tried to calm her down.

"D-Demo…." Sakura whimpered. "I don't want to!"

"I've never seen someone get so worked up about ghosts," Ron frowned, staring at the shaky Cardmistress before him.

Professor Lupin gave a calm smile as he approached Sakura. "It's perfectly alright if you don't want to participate, but I assure you, you must learn how to deal with a boggart in order to survive in the Wizarding World."

"I'll just run away!" Sakura protested.

Professor Lupin sighed. "Running away won't keep boggarts away, Miss Kinomoto. Alright, why don't you sit back and watch the class. If you get the courage to want and participate with us, you are welcome to join us at anytime. That all right with you?"

Sakura considered the thought. "I don't know….."

Professor Lupin chuckled. "Well, I'll leave it at that. It'd be nice if you could join us." He turned back to the class. "Miss Hermione is correct. A boggart sitting in darkness has not yet assumed a form. He doesn't know what person is on the other side of the door, and nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he's alone. But when I open this door, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. That means we have a huge advantage over him before we start." He gazed at Harry. "Have you spotted it, Harry?"

"Because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?" Harry answered, a bit unsure.

"Right," Professor Lupin nodded. He explained how it was best to have company when dealing with a boggart, for the boggart would become confused as to what to transform into. "The charm to repel a boggart is simple, but it requires force of mind. The thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter. You need to force the boggart to transform from your worst fear into something amusing. First, we will practice the charm without wands. Repeat after me. _Riddikulus_!"

"_Riddikulus_!" the class chimed.

"Very good," Professor Lupin said. "But that was the easy part. The word alone is not enough. And that's where you come in, Neville."

Neville walked forward nervously, stopping right next to Professor Lupin.

Off in the corner where she sat huddled, Sakura had clamped her ears shut with her hands, her eyes squinched tightly together, as she rocked back and forth. No way was she seeing anything that was going on! Suddenly hearing laughter eject from the class, she raised her head up a bit as she took a small peek over her shoulders. Her eye widened a bit upon seeing what looked like Professor Snape in a long green dress, wearing a tall hat with a stuffed vulture on top. He was accessorized with a fox-fur scarf and carried a large red handbag. She stifled a laughter. She wondered if the real Professor Snape would take offense to this.

"Parvati, forward!" Professor Lupin shouted.

The Snape-Boggart turned on Pavrati, and transformed into a blood-stained mummy as it walked slowly towards her, raising its stiff arms.

"_Riddikulus!_" Pavrati cried as she pointed her wand at the mummy.

"Aaah!" Sakura yelped upon seeing the mummy's head roll off, shrinking back in fear again.

"Seamus!"

One by one, the class stepped forward to have their turn with the boggart. When it came to Syaoran's turn, he tightened his fists. He didn't have much to fear. What was the Boggart going to turn itself into? He stared up at the Boggart cautiously. He then let out an "eh?" as the boggart formed an illusion of him and Meiling together. Syaoran's face turned red with horror as the illusion of him and Meiling getting married formed before his eyes. He wanted to scream. Why? Why did the Boggart choose that?! His amber eyes twitched as he stepped back a bit.

"Syaoran-kun, I'm so glad you married me and not Kinomoto," "Meiling" sighed happily as she clutched "Syaoran"'s arm.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Syaoran screamed as he clutched his head. "Damn it!" He quickly tried to think of something to replace that. An image of Sakura popped into his mind, and he decided to use that. _"Riddikulus!"_

"Syaoran-kun," "Sakura" smiled as she extended her hand at Syaoran. She gave a soft giggle.

"Hoe?" the real Sakura glanced up as she slowly turned around. Seeing the Boggart take her form, she watched with glistening eyes as Syaoran faced the Boggart. She slowly stood up as she walked slowly up to Syaoran. "S-Syaoran….."

"Sakura?" Syaoran was surprised to see Sakura approaching him. "N-nani?"

"A-ano…..I'll try my hand with this….boggart…if you…." Sakura blushed slightly, looking slightly away from Syaoran.

Syaoran smiled. "Sure." He took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly.

Closing her eyes, Sakura sighed. Then opening them, she turned around to face the Boggart. The Boggart transformed itself into a ghost. Sakura whimpered a bit, but regained her composure as she closed her eyes once again. An image of her mother formed in her mind. She had never seen her mother in spirit before like Touya, but maybe this would come close. "Zettai….daijoubu dayo," she muttered softly to herself.

Opening her eyes, she pointed her wand at the Boggart. "_Riddikulus!_"

A loud snap erupted from the ghost-boggart as it turned into Sakura's mother. Sakura stared up at her mother with awe. "Nadeshiko" smiled serenely back at her daughter as she extended both arms, as if to give Sakura a hug. Sakura wanted to return the hug, but Syaoran pulled her back, reminding her that it was a boggart. Harry stared with wide eyes as the Boggart assumed the shape of Sakura's mother.

Professor Lupin smiled as he looked at Sakura. "See? It's not as bad as you think, isn't it?"

Sakura shook her head. "Mm-mm. At first, it was scary, but then I thought of okaasan. She died when I was three, so I never really knew her, but otousan and oniichan always told me stories about her, and kept pictures of her in the house."

"Well, that's a pleasant image to think about," Professor Lupin chuckled. "Excellent work, Miss Kinomoto. Ron, you next!"

The boggart morphed itself into a gigantic spider before Ron. For a while, it seemed like Ron was frozen in fear, but then he raised his wand and uttered the charm. The spider's legs vanished as the spider rolled over and over until it stopped near Harry's feet.

"Here!" Professor Lupin suddenly yelled as he hurried forward in front of Harry.

For a quick second, Sakura and Syaoran could see a dementor forming before Harry's eyes. They looked at one another, then at Professor Lupin. The Boggart had changed into a silvery-white orb floating in the air before him. He cried "_Riddikulus_" in a lazy tone, before telling Neville to finish the job. The Boggart once again changed into Professor Snape, dressed in a lacy dress. Neville let out a loud "ha" as the boggart exploded into a thousand wisp of smoke before disappearing.

"Excellent!" Professor Lupin cried as the class applauded. "Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone." He gave five points to Gryffindor because every one tackled the Boggart, ten to Neville because he faced the Boggart twice, five points to Sakura for overcoming her fear and getting the courage to face the Boggart, and five points each to Hermione and Harry.

"But I didn't do anything," Harry protested.

"You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of class," Professor Lupin explained. "That was an excellent lesson, everyone. For homework, please read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it. It will be handed in on Monday. That is all."

The class chattered excitedly as they left the classroom. Harry felt a bit unexcited about not being able to face his boggart. But the others didn't notice as they talked about their boggart and how they overcame it. Harry ran up to Sakura and Syaoran, who were talking to each other.

"Sakura," Harry addressed.

"Hai," Sakura answered, turning her attention on Harry. "Nani?"

"Um……before, the boggart…." Harry didn't know how to word his sentence.

"That was my mother," Sakura smiled. "She died when I was three. I don't know if she had any magic or not, but oniichan and I were born with some magic in us. Of course, oniichan lost his magic when he gave them to Yue-san, because Yue-san was in danger of disappearing."

"Heh, well, at least you've got your dad," Harry replied. "I lost both of mine when I was only one."

"Gomen nasai," Sakura apologized.

"Hey, no need to apologize. It was Voldemort who murdered them," Harry replied.

"This Voldemort must be really bad," Sakura frowned.

"Oh, he is," Ron said loudly, overhearing them. "And around here, we call him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who….anything but his name. Saying his name around here is like swearing. But anyway, that was the best lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?"

"Not really," Syaoran muttered. He still hadn't gotten over the image of him and Meiling getting married. "It was horrible."

"Who was that girl?" Hermione asked.

"Li Meiling-chan," Sakura replied with a giggle. "She's from the Li Clan like Syaoran, but she doesn't have any magic in her. She's a great fighter, nonetheless, and she has great determination in what she does."

"Sounds like an interesting Muggle," Ron said.

"She's intimidating at first, but once you get to know her, she's not bad at all," Syaoran replied. "Maybe I'll introduce you guys to her over summer break."

"Ooh, I'd love to meet her," Hermione grinned. "Along with Eriol Hiira--"

"Hiiragizawa," Sakura said.

"Yeah, your friend's surname is rather hard to pronounce," Hermione admitted.

* * *


	7. Disappearance of the Fat Lady

Ch. 7: Disappearance of the Fat Lady

A/N: Hehe, I find it hilarious that when I spell words the U.K. way, the spell-heck deems it wrong.

* * *

For the next few days, Defense Against the Dark Arts had become everyone's favorite class. Immediately after Boggarts, they studied Red Caps, which were goblin-like creatures, and Kappas, water-dwellers that resembled a scaly monkey. Sakura seemed to enjoy this class the most out of all the other classes she took. Her second favorite class would probably be Potions, even though Professor Snape was a total meanie, since Sakura was the second person beside Hermione to excel in that class.

Professor Snape seemed to be in a terribly bad mood lately, as the news of Neville's boggart spread around the school as quick as the Dash Card. Every time Professor Lupin's name was brought up, his eyes would flash with anger and menacingly, and he would bully Neville at every chance he got. 10 minutes into the class period, Sakura whizzed past in a blur. Syaoran raised an eyebrow as he watched her accidentally miss the classroom door. He figured she must've been late and was using the Dash Card to speed up her running.

"Wow, she's really fast," Hermione noted.

"She's really athletic. She once ran to school that's 2 miles away from her home in 5 minutes flat," Syaoran replied.

Finally, Sakura rushed into the classroom, huffing and puffing. Turning to Professor Snape, she did what nobody expected her to do. Clasping her hands in front of her, she began to bow repeatedly over and over, apologizing nonstop.

"Gomen nasai, gomen nasai, gomen nasai, gomen nasai!" Sakura cried. "Gomen nasai!"

"What is she doing?!" Ron hissed to Syaoran.

"That's just her," Syaoran shrugged.

"I'm so sorry for being late, Snape-sensei! I--" Sakura began, but Snape cut her off.

"If you do not take your seat, Miss Kinomoto, that's 5 points from Gryffindor!" he shouted.

"H-hai!" Sakura bowed once again before taking a seat. Because there was no more seats next to Syaoran or her new friends, she sat down at the only available seat, next to Draco Malfoy. She sighed as she slammed her head on the table, groaning. "Hoeee…."

"That was quite an entrance, Kinomoto," Draco smirked. "And you're the first student here to ever show such respect to our teacher."

"Ehehehe," Sakura laughed nervously.

"You know, if you had been sorted into Slytherin, I'd probably like you better," Draco said as he began throwing ingredients into his cauldron. "I hate to admit it, but you're awfully cute and pretty, that it sickens me." He glanced up, his gray eyes gazing straight at Syaoran. "Li your boyfriend?"

Sakura laughed. "I guess you can put it that way. Syaoran-kun is very protective of me. We started going out a year and a half ago. Anyway, what are we learning today?"

"Oh, right," Draco smirked. "You were late. Curious how Professor Snape let you off without taking away points. We're making the Fire Protection Potion. Instructions are on pages 200-203."

"Arigatou, Malfoy-kun!" Sakura beamed.

Shaking his head, Draco frowned at her. He was deeply bothered by Sakura's warmness and friendliness to him. Why was she able to speak to him so casually, whereas everybody else saw him as another Slytherin, someone to avoid? He watched as Sakura started working on her potion, glancing away every time she looked at him. Over where Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat, Ron growled with irritation.

"How is it possible that Malfoy doesn't pick on her like the rest of us?"

Hermione shrugged. "I guess she's just too hard to hate. And neither of us knows what blood status she is, nor Syaoran's. We don't know their family. Sakura seems like she's one who sees people for who they are, not by what house they're in or what blood status they are."

"You pretty much got that right," Syaoran spoke up from the table behind them. He was seated with Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, it doesn't matter to her. I was a tough rival for her at first, always seeking power, but she saw right through me, and accepted me for who I was. She cares deeply for those she calls her friends. I'm guessing she's seeing something in Malfoy none of us sees."

"Wow," Harry said.

"You two make a good couple," Hermione grinned.

Syaoran smiled back at her, then resumed working on his potion. He snuck assistance to Neville whenever Professor Snape wasn't looking, and for some strange reason, enjoyed pissing him off by mentioning Lupin's name for the last remaining hour of the period. Years of him getting into death glare contests made him immune to Professor Snape's menacing glares. Of course, he earned himself a detention, but it was no problem for him, for his punishment was just cleaning up whatever mess Peeves made in the corridors. He shot death glares at Peeves whenever Peeves taunted him, and would draw out his sword threateningly.

Divination was no fun either. Harry looked like he was starting to dread being in her class as they deciphered lopsided shapes and symbols. Syaoran could see why. Professor Trelawney kept glancing at Harry with pathetically tearful eyes every time she turned her heads towards him. Syaoran rested his hand on his head boredly as he stared at the lopsided shape in front of him. Neither he, Harry, nor Hermione could appreciate Trelawney's teachings, even though she was liked by others in the class. Sakura was however, clueless as to what was going on in the class, but it also irked her a bit that Professor Trelawney treated Harry like he had died already.

After the incident with Buckbeak, Care of Magical Creatures became boring as Hagrid lost all confidence. They spent lessons after lessons learning how to take care of flobberworms, the most boring creature ever. After a week, Syaoran wanted to kill one, but resisted.

"Why would anyone bother to look after them?" Ron muttered as he poked shredded lettuce down the flobberworm's throat.

"I didn't take this class to learn about boring creatures," Syaoran muttered.

"How am I doing?" Sakura called from up in the air. She was riding her broomstick, the Stardust, that Eriol had sent to her that morning at breakfast. The Stardust had a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour, and had blue sparkles trailing out from the bristles whenever it was flown. Eriol had added a little touch to the broomstick by magically painting on Sakura's name on the handle in pink hiragana letters. However, the seating of the broom wasn't as comfortable to Sakura as riding her wand back in the days with the Fly.

"You're doing great, Miss Kinomoto!" Madam Hooch called from down below. "Now maneuver your broom into a 360, then come back down."

Sakura nodded as she did what she was told. She casually flew back down to ground level and got off her broom. She watched as Syaoran flew a bit in the air with his Silver Arrow, flying back down next to Sakura when he finished.

"You two seem to be experienced with flying. Have you two flown before? What was the name of your broomsticks back in Japan?" Madam Hooch questioned.

"We learned to fly when we were 10, and um, my broomstick was called the Fly. It can seat two people, and Syaoran just picked up flying from me, because he didn't have a broomstick of his own until now," Sakura replied.

"Ah, I see," Madam Hooch said.

The month of October finally came, signaling the upcoming Quidditch season. Sakura and Syaoran joined Harry as he went to a meeting to discuss strategies for the new season. Harry explained to them how Quidditch was played. By the time he finished, Sakura wanted to join the team, but couldn't, since all positions had been filled already. Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor captain, looked desperate as he urged the team to win the match. Sakura smiled as the team shouted terms of encouragement to their captain. Standing up from where she sat, she ran up next to Oliver's side as she closed her hands into fists, a bright and cheerful look on her face.

"Minna-san, ganbatte ne! Faito dayo!" Sakura cried. "Zettai daijoubu dayo!"

"That translate to, everyone, good luck! Fight! Everything will definitely be alright!" Syaoran translated for everyone.

"Hey, thanks, Sakura!" Fred grinned.

"Arigatou, Fred-senpai!" Sakura beamed. "I'll be there to cheer at every one of your games!"

"You and the rest of the Gryffindors," George laughed good-naturedly.

The team trained with determination, three evenings a week in sessions.!" Sakura beamed. "I'll be there to cheer at every one of your games!"

"You and the rest of the Gryffindors," George laughed good-naturedly.

The team trained with determination, three evenings a week in sessions. The weather got colder and wetter, but it didn't stop Harry's dream of winning the Quidditch cup. When he returned from one of his training, he asked Ron and Hermione what happened when he was gone. Ron told him that Hogsmeade weekend was coming up at the end of October, to which Harry looked downcasted. Hermione assured him that he could probably be able to go the next year. Ron insisted that Harry ask Professor McGonagall let him go even though he didn't have his permission signed.

Lying on one of the couches, Sakura secretly pulled out her Sakura Cards and flipped through them. She wanted so much as to use them, but couldn't, for she had to lay low about her sorcery magic. Next to her, Syaoran was in deep meditation. They both looked up, startled, when they heard Ron screaming for Crookshanks to get off his bag.

"What's going on over there?" Sakura wondered.

"Looks like Crookshank's on a rat hunt or something," Syaoran said before slipping back into his meditation again, blocking out Ron's screams.

"That cat's got it in for Scabbers!" they heard Ron shout. "And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!"

"URUSAI, I'M TRYING TO MEDITATE!!" Syaoran roared from where he sat.

"Chinese wizards must meditate a lot," Hermione blinked, taken aback by Syaoran's sudden outburst.

Neither Ron and Hermione spoke to each other, which troubled Sakura greatly. She hated seeing her new friends fight, but Harry assured her that they always argued like a married couple, and that she shouldn't worry too much about them. After Herbology, they had Transfiguration. Sakura and Pavrati tried to calm down a weeping Lavender. Lavender explained that her pet rabbit had been killed by a fox, and insisted that Professor Trelawney had been right about how she was going to dread the 16th of October. Hermione questioned Lavender more, earning herself glares from Pavrati, and Ron commenting for Lavender to not mind her.

"Daijoubu," Sakura assured Lavender.

For the rest of the class period, neither Ron or Hermione spoke to each other. They seated themselves away from each other on either side of Harry. After Transfiguration class, Harry approached Professor McGonagall about his Hogsmeade permission slip. Although she felt sorry that he was unable to get his slip signed, she couldn't allow him to go without a parent or guardian approval. Sakura and Syaoran didn't have theirs signed either, for they didn't receive any permission slip when they got their letter of acceptance, but they had Yukito personally give McGonagall permission for the two to go. However, Sakura didn't want to make Harry feel left out, and decided to stay with him. She had the Mirror Card go to Hogsmeade in her place. She hoped no one knew that there were two Sakura's running around.

While everybody left to go to Hogsmeade on Halloween, Sakura stayed behind with Harry, trying on the costumes Tomoyo made for her. Kero commented on how well-made they were, and wished there was an event in which she could wear them. The last thing Sakura tried on was her new middle school cheer uniform. It was white and pink, with a V-line in the middle in school colors. She grinned. She decided to wear it at the first Quidditch match of the season.

"I didn't know you were a cheerleader," Harry said as he entered the Common Room, recognizing the style of the uniform from Muggle TV and books.

Sakura giggled. "Hai. You don't have cheerleaders at Hogwarts, do you?"

Harry shook his head. "We don't really need one. The encouragement from people who come to watch is enough for us. But we'd be happy if you gave us a little extra boost."

They were suddenly interrupted when Colin Creevey piped up, eager to talk to Harry. Harry wasn't in the mood to have people staring at his scar, and excused himself to the library.

"You should've gone, Sakura. You heard what those twins said! They sell sweets in one of the shops!" Kero cried once Harry left the Common Room.

"I didn't want Harry-kun to feel left out," Sakura frowned. "And what could you possibly like? Your first experience with a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean didn't go very well."

"Hey, that was just one of them. It's every flavour. Meaning there's other better flavours than that." Kero retorted.

Just then, Sakura's cell phone rang. Picking it up, she held it up to her ear. "Moshi moshi?'

"Sakura-chan! How is Hogwarts?" a familiar voice said.

"Tomoyo-chan! Ah, Hogwarts wa sugoi desu! I wish you could've been here!" Sakura cried happily. "I've made some new friends here. Harry-kun, Hermione-chan, Ron-kun, Fred-senpai, George-senpai, Ginny-chan, Malfoy-kun…."

"Hold up. Isn't that Malfoy arrogant to your other friends?" Kero frowned, interrupting. "I know he hasn't done anything mean to you yet, but I don't think he thinks of you as a friend, especially since the kids here judge each other by houses."

"Well, I do," Sakura said.

"Have you worn my costumes yet?" Tomoyo asked.

"Not yet, unfortunately. We're restricted to our costumes." Sakura said.

"You'll be able to wear them at some point," Tomoyo assured her, though sounding a bit disappointed as well. "What classes are you taking? How are the teachers?"

Sakura grinned as she explained to Tomoyo about how the classes were different from a normal school's, the different Houses, house points, and finally, the professors. She told Tomoyo about every one of them that she had this year.

"You seem to enjoy it," Tomoyo said.

"It's a fun experience," Sakura replied. "I've never learned so much before. But I do miss seeing you and everybody and music period."

"We all miss you too," Tomoyo said. "Oh, okaasan is calling me. I have to go now. Sore ja!"

"Ja ne, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura clicked off her cell phone. She sighed. Sitting up from the couch, she decided to explore the castle, and exited out of the Common Room. Kero followed after her.

"Where are you going?"

"Exploring the school," Sakura said. "Ne, Kero-chan, what have you been doing while I was at classes?"

"Nothing much. Because technology can't be used here, I can't play my video games, and Yue's just a bore. He doesn't do anything much but stand around all day while girl students go gaga over him, and transforms into Yukito when Yukito is hungry," Kero grumbled. "Although Yukito still doesn't know about me, and considers me a plush toy like he always has."

Sakura and Kero descended the moving staircase to the first floor, and walked down the corridors, passing through the different classrooms and offices. As they passed the Muggle Studies classroom, Peeves decided to swoop in on them. He cackled gleefully as he dove in front of Sakura.

"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"

Angry that the Poltergeist had frightened his mistress, Kero transformed into Kerberos for a brief second as an angry snarl ripped from his mouth. Peeves let out another laugh as he whirled about in the air.

"Ooh, the little plush toy is a big wingy lion! Tee hee!"

"I'll rip you apart if you don't stop taunting my mistress!" Kerberos growled, his golden eyes blazing with fury.

Peeves cackled aloud once more, but whizzed away. Kerberos transformed back into his hidden form and sighed. He looked up at Sakura. "Are you alright?"

"Hai….arigatou gozaimasu, Kero-chan," Sakura said.

After exploring a bit of the first floor, they went up to the second floor. As they passed by the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor office, they heard voices coming from inside that sounded like Harry and Professor Lupin.

"Hoe?" Sakura stepped closer to the door just as Professor Snape appeoached the office.

"Miss Kinomoto, eavesdropping, I presume?" he asked as he stopped directly behind her.

"I-Iie! I wasn't!" Sakura laughed nervously. "I was just passing by, and I got curious when I heard voices, that's all. A-A-A-Ano, how's your day, Snape-sensei?"

Ignoring that last question, Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "Pity you didn't go to Hogsmeade with the rest of your house. Your…..boyfriend….must be lonely without you there with him."

"Ehehe, I'm sure he'll be fine," Sakura said. His dark eyes fell on Kero, but he said nothing. He knocked on the door. Sakura heard Professor Lupin telling him to come in. Sakura followed Professor Snape inside.

"Ah, Severus," Lupin smiled. "Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?"

Sakura now noticed the brewing goblet in Snape's hands. Seeing Harry glance in her direction, she waved smally at him, a wide grin stretching across her innocent face. Sakura stayed silent as Professor Snape and Professor Lupin made as little a conversation to each other. A minute later, Professor Snape turned and left the office. Sakura stepped further in.

"Konnichiwa."

"Ah, Sakura," Professor Lupin smiled as he turned his head towards the Cardmistress.

"Weren't you up in the Common Room before?" Harry asked.

Sakura laughed as she rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I kinda got bored, and I never got the chance to officially explore the whole castle, so why not start now?"

Harry just nodded silently. Noticing the grindylow sitting in a tank, Sakura ran up to it.

"Sugoi! What is it?"

"I'm glad you asked, Sakura. This is a grindylow," Professor Lupin explained. "A water demon."

Harry and Sakura glanced at the goblet. Lupin smiled at both of them. "Professor Snape has kindly concocted a potion for me. I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex." He sniffed the goblet. "Pity sugar makes it useless." He took a sip of the potion, shuddering.

"Why--?" Harry began, but Lupin answered his question for him. Sakura continued staring curiously at the grindylow, pressing her hands against the glass and making cute faces at it. She whirled around when she heard Harry blurt out that Professor Snape was interested in the Dark Arts.

"Really?" Lupin looked amused and interested as he took another sip of his potion.

"Some people reckon……some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."

Lupin drank the last ounce of potion, then made a sour face. "Disgusting. Well, Harry, Sakura, I have to get back to work. I'll see you two at the feast later."

"Right," Harry said, putting down his empty teacup.

Sakura turned to Harry. "Tomoyo-chan just called me before."

"Your Muggle friend?"

"Un. She's the only Muggle who knows about my magical secret, and she accepts me for who I am." Sakura replied. "I wish this school wasn't so protected against Muggles. Then I can give Tomoyo-chan a tour of this school. She'd be happy if she knew what went on here. Filming my adventures is her favorite pastime."

Harry laughed. "Your friend sounds like a great friend."

"Un!"

Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Mirror-Sakura, Syaoran, Hermione, and Ron were hanging around the Three Broomsticks. Hermione and Ron insisted Mirror-Sakura and Syaoran try the delicious Butterbeer. Neither of them liked it very much, and preferred the Japanese drinks. They then went into Zonko's Joke Shop, where they found Fred and George buying items off the shelves. When they entered Gladrag's Wizardwear, Mirror-Sakura bought some new clothing as a gift for her mistress with Syaoran's galleons. Next, the group ventured into Honeydukes, where Syaoran bought himself a large amount of chocolate goodies. Mirror-Sakura bought sherbet lemons, chocolate gateau, pink squares of coconut ice, fudge, Fizzing Whizbees, Licorice Wands, and sugar quills for her mistress and Kero.

"Sakura, are you sure you can eat all that?" Hermione asked.

"I'm sharing half with Kero-chan," Mirror-Sakura replied.

"Oh, that guardian of yours. He's pretty cute and cool-looking," Hermione giggled.

"I hope we can someday hear his true form that you told us about on the train," Ron said. "I'll bet it's cool."

Syaoran just rolled his eyes as they exited out of Hogsmeade.

Later that day, Syaoran, Hermione, Mirror-Sakura, and Ron returned to the Common Room. Mirror-Sakura disappeared behind a curtain, where the real Sakura stood waiting. Sakura called the card back, then stepped out from behind the curtain. Hermione blinked.

"What were you doing behind there?" she asked.

"Just looking outside at the view," Sakura said. She took a bag of sherbet lemons and gave them to Kero, who happily munched his sweet tooth off on them.

"Yatta! Just as expected from Sakura!" he cried.

Hermione giggled. She looked at Harry anxiously. "What did you do? Did you get any work done?"

"No. Lupin made me a cup of tea in his office. And then Snape came in…." Harry told them all about the goblet.

"Lupin drank it?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

The trio continued talking about Lupin, Snape, and the Potion as Sakura and Syaoran followed them into the Great Hall for the feast. Sakura gaped in awe. Hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins decorated the room, along with live bats and many flaming orange streamers that swam lazily across the stormy ceiling.

Sitting down at the Gryffindor table, Sakura began piling chimaki, soba, osechi, mochi, botamochi, sushi, chirashizushi, rice, and many other Japanese food onto her plate. Syaoran helped himself to jiaozi dumplings, taro cakes, fish, stew, nian gao, zong zi, moon cake, and tang yuan. Hermione and Ron managed to get seconds even though they were already full from Honeyduke sweets. Professor Lupin seemed cheerful as ever, and was talking excitedly to Professor Flitwick. The feast ended with entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. Sakura hid behind Syaoran in fear, whimpering.

"Hoeee…."

After dinner ended, Sakura, Syaoran, Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed the rest of the Gryffindors to the Gryffindor Tower. But when they reached the end of the corridor with the Fat Lady portrait, they found it crowded with students. Sakura looked around wildly, searching for a way to get in.

"Why isn't anyone going in?" Ron asked.

"Let me through, please!" Percy Weasley shouted as he pushed through the crowd. "What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password! Excuse me, I'm Head Boy—" He took a look at the portrait. His mouth suddenly stretched into a grim line as he whirled about. "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

Syaoran nodded as he sprinted down the corridors to fetch Dumbledore. Sakura watched as he left, then turned back to the portrait. Ginny arrived a little after Syaoran left, wondering what was going on. Moments later, Professor Dumbledore swept towards the portrait. Sakura, Hermione, Harry, and Ron moved closer in to see the damage.

"Oh, my--" Hermione took a hold of Harry's arm.

"Doushite….." Sakura widened her eyes.

"This must've happened when we were at the feast," Syaoran concluded, his hands grasping his chin in deep thinking.

The Fat Lady had disappeared from her portrait, which had been slashed viciously. Strips of canvas littered the floor, and a great chunk of the portrait had been torn away. Dumbledore took a look at the painting just as Professor McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape hurried to the scene. In the chaos, Sakura heard Dumbledore telling Professor McGonagall to find Filch and have him search for the Fat Lady.

"You'll be lucky!" Peeves cackled from above.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore's voice was calm.

"Hoeeeee……" Sakura squeaked upon seeing Peeves.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir." Peeves said in a happy tone as he went on about the Fat Lady and how he'd seen her dodging between trees and crying something dreadful. "Poor thing."

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh yes, Professorhead," Peeves said. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

Sakura blinked. "Hoe? Sirius Black?"

"He was a follower of You-Know-Who," Ron explained to her. "He was locked up in the wizard prison, Azkaban, for twelve years, but escaped prison just a few months ago."

"Hoeeeee! That's scary!" Sakura cried.

Professor Dumbledore sent the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall, where they were joined by Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs, who all were confused as to what was going on. Professor Dumbledore alerted them about how he and the teachers were going to conduct a search of the castle, and how they had to sleep in the Great Hall for the night. He addressed that any disturbances should be reported immediately. Before he left, he made purple sleeping bags appear on the floor. Sakura and Syaoran took ones that were placed next to each other.

"Sleep well," Professor Dumbledore said as he closed the door behind him.

But none of the students could sleep. They chattered excitedly, the Gryffindors telling stories about what had happened. Sakura glanced up from her sleeping bag. Yue stood against the far side of the wall, straying away from the chaos, his arms folded against his chest. His eyes were closed as he concentrated on blocking the noise out. Kero floated up to Sakura.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"The Fat Lady disappeared from her portrait," Sakura explained. "Some bad guy named Sirius Black did it. He escaped Azkaban just a couple of months ago."

Kero frowned. "You better be careful, Sakura. Your magic is powerful, more powerful than Clow Reed now. There are probably many other sorcerors and wizards who may be after your power. This Sirius Black may be one of them."

"Hoee….." Sakura moaned. "Hey, Kero-chan…..wasn't Yue in the Gryffindor Common Room while we were at the feast?"

Kero shook his head. "No. He was in classroom eleven."

"Mou, I wish I could use the Cards," Sakura sighed. "I wonder if I should notify Eriol-kun about this."

Kero shook his head. "It's probably best not to. Look, Sakura, we'll get out of this eventually. You heard Dumbledore. He and the teachers are going to search the castle for this Sirius Black. Anyway, oyasumi nasai." He floated down on a spot next to Sakura and closed his eyes.

Sakura nodded as she laid down. She was still worried. Over the chattering of the others, she could hear Percy yelling for them to go to sleep as the candles went out. Once every hour, a teacher would check the Great Hall to make sure everything was quiet. While Sakura and Syaoran slept peacefully, Harry remained awake, feigning sleep whenever Percy or Dumbledore came near him.

"_Dare?"_

_Sakura found herself standing inside an old shack. Glancing down at herself, she noticed she was wearing one of Tomoyo's costumes, though it wasn't one of those that Tomoyo had packed for her. She figured that Tomoyo must have sent her it. Looking back up, she watched with confused eyes as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Syaoran, and Kero stood/floated in front of her. Their backs faced her as they seemed to look ahead at the person in front of them. Sakura craned her neck sideways to see. In front of them, a man stood in the shadows behind a small cabinet. She couldn't see his face, because his features was masked by the shadow, but the moonlight reflected on him enough so that Sakura could see his dark eyes illuminating in the dark. She listened and watched helplessly as her friends shouted at the anonymous stranger. The dream suddenly transitioned to another scene, still taking place in the shack. This time, another unfamiliar man appeared. She couldn't see this second man's face either, but saw hungry, gleaming eyes and flashing yellow-stained teeth. Sakura took a look at his hands. His hands were abnormally large, with nails like that of a rat's. She also noticed that he was missing a finger from his right hand. Before she could get a chance to understand what was going on, her eyes betrayed her as they slowly opened._

"Hoe?"

"Sakura, you're awake," Syaoran said as he watched Sakura wake up.

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

"Well, it's daytime now. Anyway, you seemed to be muttering something in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura told him about what she had seen in her dream. Kero frowned. "Your dreams are always prophetic, Sakura. You better be on the lookout."

Sakura nodded. "Hai."


	8. Sakura's Secret Revealed!

Ch. 8: Sakura's Secret Revealed! The Cardmistress's Story

* * *

For the next few days, the school talked only about Sirius Black. Theories about how he entered the castle became wilder each and every day. Sakura kept pondering about the same recurring dream she had, only to have Syaoran tell her to stop thinking about it so much. The Fat Lady's portrait had been taken off the wall and was replaced by Sir Cadogan's portrait and his fat gray pony. Not many people was happy about it, for Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging people to duels and thinking up ridiculous passwords to change at least twice a day. Only Syaoran enjoyed the duels as he whirled his sword about in front of the portrait, his amber eyes intense. People stared at him as if he was crazy.

Harry was now closely being watched, with teachers accompanying him to class and Percy tailing him everywhere like a guard dog. Sakura walked alongside him on his way to class, and told him about her recurring dream. Harry stared at her with wide eyes, but didn't say much. At one point, Professor McGonagall summoned Harry to her office. Sakura watched as Harry disappeared into the office, then continued walking down the corridors.

As the first Quidditch match drew nearer, the weather began to worsen. Still, the Gryffindors trained long and hard under Madam Hooch's supervision. Sakura, Kero, and Syaoran stayed on the sidelines as they watched the Quidditch players train viciously and intensely. On the final training day, Oliver Wood addressed a bit of bad news to them.

"We're not playing Slytherin. Flint's just been to see me. We're playing Hufflepuff instead." He seethed angrily.

"I wonder what's going on over there," Sakura wondered aloud.

"Beats me," Syaoran muttered.

"Why don't you go over there and check it out?" Kero asked.

Sakura nodded as she leapt up and proceeded across the field towards the team. She came up next to Harry with a confused look on her face. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Sakura. Didn't expect to see you here. There's been a slight change of plans," George told her. "We're playing Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin."

"Nani?"

"Flint's excuse is that their Seeker's arm is still ingured," Oliver growled. "But it's obvious why they're doing it. Don't want to play in this weather. Think it'll damage their chances."

"There's nothing wrong with Malfoy's arm! He's faking it!" Harry shouted angrily.

Sakura listened quietly as the team continued to talk about the match, and how the Hufflepuffs had a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory. She heard a few giggles from the girls, who commented on how good-looking and strong Cedric was. Oliver Wood kept looking distraught because they didn't seem to be taking his words into account, but Fred told him that they were taking Hufflepuff very seriously.

Harry and Sakura arrived late to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry was late because Oliver Wood had stopped him in the hallway. For Sakura, she had been chatting on her cell phone with Eriol and lost track of time. They came in at about the same time.

"Sorry, I'm late, Professor Lupin, I…." Harry panted, but when he looked up, Lupin wasn't looking back at him. Instead, he gazed into the eyes of Professor Snape.

"Gomen nasai," Sakura bowed apologetically before taking a seat next to Syaoran.

"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter, so I think we'll make it ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down. Miss Kinomoto, I would assume you not make this second mistake again."

"Hai," Sakura bowed her head.

"Why isn't he taking points from her? She came in the same time as Harry!" Ron whispered to Hermione.

"Probably because she's the only one who showed him respect. She practically bowed to him over and over the first time she was late," Hermione whispered back. "And I think Professor Snape favors her a bit."

"Where's Professor Lupin?" Harry demanded.

"He says he's feeling too ill to teach today," Snape said, his mouth twisted with a smile. "I believe I told you to sit down."

Harry remained intact with the floor. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing life-threatening. Five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask you to sit down again, it will be fifty." Snape said.

Harry took a seat as Snape looked around at the class. He began to talk about how Professor Lupin had not left any records of the topics they had covered so far in the class. Hermione spoke up about how they had done boggarts, Red Caps, kappas, and grindylows. Snape merely told her to be quiet in a cold voice. Sakura heard Dean Thomas boldly state that Lupin was the best DADA teacher they had ever had, along with many who agreed with him. But Snape wouldn't hear none of it. He flicked to the back of the textbook.

"Today we shall discuss werewolves," Snape said monotonously.

"But sir," Hermione protested. "We're not supposed to do werewolves yet, we're due to start hinkypunks--"

"Miss Granger, I was under the impression that I am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you to all turn to page 394. All of you. Now!" Snape said in a deadly calm tone. The class mumbled and grumbled as they flipped their books to the assigned page. "Which one of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?"

Syaoran muttered under his breath. "That's so easy."

"Anyone? Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic distinction between--" Snape asked, ignoring Hermione completely.

Pavrati suddenly burst out about how they hadn't gotten that far yet, only to be silenced by Snape, who began snarling about how very behind the class was. Hermione raised her hand once again.

"Please, sir," she pleaded as she went into a description about the differences between the two wolves.

"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger," Snape said coolly. "Five more points from Gryffindor from being an insufferable know-it-all."

Sakura watched with wide eyes as Hermione turned red and stared down at the floor with teary eyes. She glanced up at Professor Snape with a questionable look on her face. The class all glared at him, and Ron shouted loudly, "You asked us a question and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?!"

Everyone knew that Ron had gone too far. Professor Snape glared at Ron menacingly. "You've gone too far! Ten points from Gryffindor and a detention! You will be cleaning the dustpans in the Hospital Wing without the use of magic!"

Ron dropped his mouth open with disbelief, then seethed as he folded his arms. Sakura sweatdropped as she stayed silent throughout the entire class period. She didn't want to make Snape even more irritated than he already was. Syaoran scribbled furiously in his notebook as he took notes while Professor Snape went on teaching. Sakura rested her head on her hand as she closed her eyes for a brief second.

"_Harry, Harry, you look so much like your father--" the man with the missing finger in his right hand cried as he clutched Harry's robes. _

"_HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HIM! HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF _HIM_!" another voice bellowed._

"_What's going on?" Sakura asked as she glanced around. "Who are you?" She addressed the question to the two unfamiliar wizards. _

"Sakura? SAKURA!"

Sakura opened her eyes. Seeing Syaoran's hand on her shoulder, she glanced up at him. He looked concerned as he gazed at her with worried amber eyes. "Syaoran-kun?"

"You dozed off, and then you started shouting," Syaoran told her. "Is it that same dream again?"

Sakura blinked. "But I only closed my eyes for a second….did I fall asleep unknowingly?" She looked around to see everyone staring at her, including Snape. Turning her attention back to Syaoran, she nodded. "Hai." She told him about what she had seen in her dream this time.

Syaoran sighed. "Really, Sakura, your dream is getting more and more vivid. Who knows when it'll start coming true."

Sakura laughed a bit as they were dismissed from class. She still felt a bit tired and dreary as she made her way to the girl's bathroom and washed her face before heading back to the Common Room. She sighed as she flopped back on the bed, then sit back up. The dream was starting to become realistic each and every day. What was it trying to tell her? Shaking the thought off, she pulled out her cheer uniform and put it on. To protect herself from the cold weather, she wrapped a pink cloak around her shoulders before she headed out to the stadium to watch the first Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. She came just in time to see Hermione put a water repelling spell on Harry's glasses and return to her seat in the stands. As Hermione passed her, she stopped to gape at Sakura.

"Sakura! I didn't know you were a cheerleader!" she cried.

"Ehehe, yeah, I am." Sakura laughed sheepishly. "And yeah, yeah, I know. Cheerleaders are not needed. The audience's encouragement is enough."

"Well, I'm sure your bright attitude and spirited nature would give them a bit of a boost as well," Hermione smiled as she ran to sit in the stands.

The match started, and Harry and Cedric both focused on getting the Snitch. Sakura cheered excitedly from where she stood, screaming, "GANBATTE!"

The audience watched as the Quidditch players zoomed around on the field. Harry Potter flew through the windy air, looking around everywhere for the Snitch. He avoided Bludgers and ducked beneath Cedric, who had snuck in from the opposite direction. Down below, he could hear Sakura's loud cheers, louder than the crowd's. A clap of thunder sounded, followed by lightning. Harry knew he had to get the Snitch as fast as possible.

"COME ON, HARRY-KUN!" Sakura cried.

"Harry, behind you!" Oliver yelled from the Gryffindor goal posts.

Harry looked around wildly and saw Cedric racing up the field. Quickly, he threw himself flat against the broom handle and zoomed towards the Snitch. He urged his Nimbus to go faster as he reached out his hand. Then all of a sudden, the air grew very still and chilly. Before he had any time to think, he looked down from the Snitch to see hundreds of Dementors pointing up at him as they began accelerating in his direction.

Down below on the ground, Sakura felt a strange and cold aura. She immediately stopped her cheering as she looked around wildly. The aura felt somewhat familiar, like she felt it somewhere before. Syaoran had felt the same aura as well, and leapt down from the stands to join Sakura. He narrowed his eyes as he turned to the Cardmistress.

"This aura…." he began.

Sakura nodded. "Where do you think it came from?"

Looking up, Syaoran clenched his teeth as he pointed. "Sakura, look! Dementors!"

"Hoe?" Sakura glanced up and gasped to see the dementors surrounding Harry. Without a second thought, she pulled out her Star Key and started chanting as a bright yellow circle appeared underneath her feet. "_Hoshi no chikara o himeshi kagi yo…._"

"Sakura, what are you doing? STOP!" Syaoran shouted, but his words were beyond Sakura's ears as she kept chanting, her arms spread apart as the Star Key hovered between the palms of her hands.

"….._Shin no sutaga o ware no mae ni shimese. Keiyaku no moto Sakura ga meijiru….Reriizu!_"

A gust of wind picked up around her as the Star Key lengthened into a long pink wand with a circular ring on top. Inside the ring was a star, and on the eastern and western sides of the ring were two tiny wings. Pulling out a Sakura Card, Sakura tossed it up into the air. "FLY!"

White wings appeared on her back as she immediately took flight. As she passed the crowd, she heard gasps and murmurs, but ignored them. There was more important things than her secret being exposed. Seeing that Harry was plummeting towards the ground, she knew she had to do something, and quick. Knowing that she would never be able to catch him at the rate he was falling, she pulled out another card from her pocket and threw it down towards the ground. "WINDY! STEADY HARRY'S FALL!"

Windy's spirit rose out of her card, then swirled around the spot where Harry would fall. Before he completely blacked out, he could see Sakura flying towards him with….wings on her back? He didn't know if it was an illusion or not, but before he could think more about it, he fainted.

Everyone watched as Windy broke Harry's fall as he fell gently onto the soft grass. Tossing another card into the air, Sakura glared at the dementors. "Erase! Erase the dementors!"

The Erase billowed her robes, making some of the Dementors disappear completely. Some escaped the Erase's grasp, and fled away. Sakura flew down next to Harry as her wings disappeared and reverted back into a pink card.

"Lucky the ground was so soft."

"I thought he was dead for sure."

"But he didn't break his glasses."

"Did you see what that Kinomoto girl did?"

"Yeah! It was really weird!"

"And she made those dementors disappear for good!"

"What do you think she is?"

Sakura leaned against the wall next to Harry's hospital bed. She heard people talking about her, but she didn't care if they learned of her secret. Seeing Harry's eyes snap open, she ran to his bedside.

"Harry-kun, daijoubu?"

"Ugh, yeah," Harry groaned.

"Harry, how're you feeling?" Fred asked, looking white as a sheet.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"You fell off. Must've been what, fifty feet?" Fed told him.

"We thought you'd died," Alicia added, her body trembling.

"But Sakura somehow did something, and this woman came out of a card and made a gust of wind that broke your fall," George said.

Harry wanted to know what happened to the match, who won, and other questions. Fred and George explained it all to him, about how Cedric got the Snitch, how Cedric wanted a rematch, and how Wood was taking their loss pretty badly. Harry's face met his knees as he grabbed his hair, frustrated.

"C'mon, Harry, you've never missed the Snitch before," Fred said.

"There had to be one time you didn't get it," George added.

Harry listened as Fred and George went on talking. He then glanced over at Sakura, who was standing silently next to his bedpost. His green eyes stared down at her auburn head.

"Sakura."

Sakura looked up at Harry. Harry smiled at her. "Thanks for saving me. I don't know how you did it, but thanks."

Sakura shook her head. "I didn't want you or anyone to get hurt, so I did my best."

"Speaking of which….Sakura, we've never seen magic like that before. What was that all about?" Hermione asked as she faced Sakura.

Glancing over at Syaoran, Sakura saw him nod his head. She sighed as she called Kero out of her bag. The little guardian beast sat on top of one of the bedpost as he folded his arms. Sakura knew that since everyone had seen her sorcery magic, she'd have to explain it. She explained how she found a magical book called the Clow Book in her father's basement one day, how she became a Cardcaptor and had to capture all the Clow Cards, and the hard work she did to capture all 52 Cards. Sakura also told them about how only two of her Muggle friends, Tomoyo and Syaoran's cousin Meiling, were the only Muggles who ever paid attention to magic, and were more fascinated with it than any Muggle. She went on about the days when she had to transform all the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, and how their friend Eriol Hiiragizawa did some crazy and evil deeds just to get her to transform the cards. Sakura even told them about the Void Card and how she almost lost Syaoran after capturing the cards. Not because he died (because he didn't), but because the sacrifice behind sealing the Void Card was giving up one's true feelings for another. She didn't know where she got her magic from, but she figured that she must've gotten them from her mother. After she explained her magical life, she passed it on to Kero, who explained that the magic Sakura and Syaoran possessed was not wizardry or witchcraft, but sorcery. He told the students about the powerful sorcerer Clow Reed, the creator of the Clow Cards.

"Clow Reed was born to a Chinese mother and a British father. He created the Clow Cards, all with different magical properties in them, by combining occidental and oriental magic. His magic was a balance between the sun and the moon, and his power was the darkness. He also created me and Yue to guard The Clow and ensure that we pass it on properly to any new masters we may have. I'm the Guardian of the Sun, and Yue is the Guardian of the Moon. Clow Reed liked playing jokes, much like the Weasley twins. He always smiled, and was a mischievous sorcerer as well as a happy one. But since Clow was very powerful and was cocky at times, he gained a great number of enemies. However, he also knew his limits and didn't try to avoid them or surpass them. Clow was also ambitionless. Before he died, he gathered both me and Yue together, and assigned us the role of choosing our next master. I was to choose the candidate, and Yue was to judge whether our next master is capable of being Master of the Clow Cards. And that candidate was none other than Sakura. Clow Reed reincarnated himself into Eriol Hiiragizawa, but none of us knew that until the day Sakura converted the rest of her unconverted cards that included the Light and Dark Cards. And that's the story of Clow Reed and how the Clow Cards came to be," Kero explained.

"And my clan are the direct descendants of Clow Reed," Syaoran said. "But some of us don't have magic, like my cousin Meiling."

"Wow, that's incredible!" Hermione cried with fascination.

"Bloody hell, it was," Ron agreed.

"Sakura, can I take a look at your cards?" Hermione asked Sakura.

"Uh, sure…." Sakura pulled out a couple of the Sakura Cards and handed them to Hermione.

Hermione smiled as she flipped through them. "The designs on the cards are very….cute. Let's see…Arrow, Dash, Watery, Dream, Earthy, Create, Change, Float, Fly, Flower, Freeze, Storm, Glow, Firey, Woody, Illusion, Lock, Mirror, Mist, Light, Dark, Little, Big, Fight, Power, Rain, Return, Time, Shield, Shot, Sleep, Snow, Song, Voice, Erase, Twin, Thunder, Windy, Wave, Hope……" She stopped when she saw the Shadow Card. "Hey, the Shadow Card looks like--"

"The Dementors, we know," Syaoran spoke up. "But the Shadow's cloak isn't as ragged as the dementors, and the Shadow's power is controlling shadows. It's only weakness is light."

"And I used the Mirror Card to make a replica of myself, and while I was at Divination, Mirror went to Muggle Studies in my place. I also used the Twin Card on Syaoran to make his 'twin', and his 'twin' went to Arithmancy when he was at Divination with me. And you probably didn't notice, but on the first Hogsmeade visit, I stayed behind with Harry, and sent Mirror to go along with Ron-kun and Hermione-chan," Sakura said.

Ron and Hermione widened their eyes.

"So that's how you did it," Ron cried. "Bloody brilliant! I still don't know how Hermione does it, though."

"What? Unlike them, I can't be in two places at once," Hermione frowned.

After ten minutes of excited chattering, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the team to leave Harry in peace. Fred told Harry that they'll come visit later. After they left, only Hermione, Ron, Sakura, Kero, and Syaoran remained. Hermione said to Harry in a quaking voice that Dumbledore seemed really angry with the dementors, and chased whichever dementors Sakura didn't defeat away by making silvery stuff protrude from his wand. Ron added that Dumbledore magicked Harry onto a stretcher and took him to the hospital wing. But in the middle of Ron's talking, Harry's mind drifted elsewhere. Glancing up, Harry saw four of his friends staring at him so anxiously that he desperately searched for something to say.

"Did someone get my Nimbus?"

"Err…" Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Well, when you fell off, it got blown away," Hermione replied.

"And?" Harry was looking frantic right about now.

"And it hit--it hit--oh, Harry, it hit the Whomping Willow!" Hermione cried.

"And?" Harry now felt dreary inside.

"Well, you know the Whomping Willow," Ron said. "It doesn't like being hit."

"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around," Hermione said smally. She reached down to pick up the bag near her feet, and turned it upside down. Bits of splintered wood and twigs fell onto the bed as the only remains of Harry's wrecked broomstick. He groaned.

"Daijoubu," Sakura said. "I'm sure you'll get another broom. You got this from McGonagall, right? What if she sends you that Firebolt in the Quidditch Quality Supply window display?"

"Hey, yeah, that might be possible!" Ron nodded.

"But I don't think she would send me another broom," Harry frowned.

Sakura sighed. She then glanced up. "Well, Syaoran-kun and I have to go now. See you when you get better, Harry-kun." She turned to leave the Hospital Wing, Syaoran following behind her.


	9. A Brief Visit and the Marauder's Map

Ch. 9: A Brief Visit and the Marauder's Map

* * *

For the rest of the weekend, Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry in the hospital wing. He refused to let her throw away the remains of his favorite broomstick. People visited him, all intent on cheering him up. Sakura made regular visits to see him, her bright smiles always managing to make Harry smile just a little. Hagrid sent him a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages, and Ginny Weasley gave him a get-well card that she made herself. The card would sing in a shrilly voice unless Harry shoved it under his bowl of fruit. The Gryffindor team also visited him. Ron and Hermione stayed with Harry throughout, and didn't leave until nighttime.

While Harry was in the hospital wing, Sakura and Syaoran were constantly being asked by students who had heard about what happened. They were seemingly interested that two sorcerers managed to get into Hogwarts, and that Hogwarts never had sorcerer students before. Sakura sweatdropped with a 'hoe' as boys flocked over her, while girls flocked over Syaoran. Severus Snape looked bemused everytime he saw the two of them being chased around, and dubbed them the "new celebrities". Teachers were also curious about Sakura and Syaoran, and often asked them questions in the hallway. Professor Trelawney was very much delighted to hear that Sakura was also a dream seer who foresaw future events through her dreams. Even Draco Malfoy seemed a bit impressed after learning that Sakura was a sorceress and possessed powerful magic that surpassed that of Clow Reed.

On Monday morning, Harry was free from the hospital wing, and was allowed to go to his classes. He was forced to think about other things, even if he had to withstand Draco's taunts. Malfoy seemed pretty happy with Gryffindor's defeat, and took off his bandages and celebrated by making imitations of Harry falling off his broom. He also spent much of their Potions class doing dementor imitations, until Ron finally snapped and threw a large crocodile heart at Draco's face and caused Snape to deduct fifty points from Gryffindor. Sakura laughed nervously as the crocodile heart slid off Draco's face.

After lunch, they headed to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ron was skeptical about Snape substituting again, and asked Hermione to check. Once Hermione confirmed that it was okay (meaning Professor Lupin was back), the class filed in. Syaoran noticed how shabby Professor Lupin looked with his old robes hanging loosely on him than ever before, along with the dark shadows underneath his eyes like he hadn't slept in days. Despite his appearance, Professor Lupin smiled at the class. As they took their seats, the students burst into complaints about Professor Snape. After hearing their complaints, Professor Lupin explained that he'd talk to Snape and that they needn't do the essay. Hermione looked disappointed about it, since she had already done it.

For their lesson, Professor Lupin brought along a glass box that contained a hinkypunk. He taught that hinkypunks lured travelers into bogs, and used the lantern on its hands to attract them. Sakura compared its luring ability to that of an angler fish, a fish that lived in the deepest part of the seas. When the bell rang, everyone gathered their supplies and left the classroom. Professor Lupin called for Harry to stay behind.

"That hinkypunk looked very interesting," Sakura said as she and Syaoran headed up to the Common Room.

Syaoran nodded with agreement. "Yeah, it was. Hmm, I wonder why Lupin-sensei kept Harry back."

"Maybe he wanted to talk to him?" Sakura theorized.

"Maybe," Syaoran shrugged.

They arrived at the portrait of Sir Cadogan. Syaoran told him the password, to which Sir Cadogan swung his portrait open to let the two in. Sakura flopped herself down onto the couch as she placed her arms behind her head. Unknown to them, someone was also there in the Common Room with them, and it was not one of their fellow Gryffindors.

"Sakura-san, Li-kun, I would assume you're enjoying your stay here?" a deep voice asked.

Syaoran reacted, drawing out his sword. "Who's there?" he demanded.

"My, Syaoran, quick to draw your sword on a friend?" the stranger chuckled as he stepped out of his hiding place and into the light. Sakura widened her eyes as she sat up abruptly. A boy with dark-blue hair and blue eyes wearing rectangular glasses smiled back at them. He wore the same robes as Clow Reed.

"Eriol-kun!" Sakura shrilled as she ran over to give Eriol a welcoming hug.

"It's good to see you too, Sakura-san," Eriol smiled. He looked at Syaoran, who was fuming furiously. "Looks like Li-kun isn't too happy to see me."

"DAMN HELL, I'M NOT!" Syaoran roared as he shoved his fist below Eriol's chin. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"Why, visiting, of couse. The headmaster was very kind and let me enter the castle as a guest visitor," Eriol explained.

"Uwaah, that's awesome!" Sakura cried.

"Now, please tell me everything that has happened here," Eriol said, interested to hear about the two's adventures at Hogwarts. Sakura excitedly told him everything, but then dropped her voice when she told him about how she accidentally let known about her true powers and the Sakura Cards. Eriol sighed, but let Sakura off on it since he knew that they would've found out eventually, even if she never revealed anything to them.

Eriol stayed as a visitor for a week, and often had Nakuru and Suppi come along to visit the castle as well. Kero delighted in stuffing Honeyduke sweets in Suppi's mouth, which caused him to go in a drunken rampage in which Eriol had to stop before any of them got in trouble. Two weeks before the end of term, the sky lightened to white, and the grounds were splattered with fresh snow. Inside the castle, there was a burst of Christmas in the air. Sakura enjoyed running around and shouting "Merry Christmas" to everyone in an energetic tone. She also had the Snow Card create more snow on the grounds outside. Professor Flitwick decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real fairies. Students happily discussed plans for the holidays. Sakura felt excited to go home again to her family. Both Ron and Hermione decided to remain at Hogwarts. To everyone's delight, there would be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of term. Hermione insisted on doing all her Christmas shopping there. Once again, Harry stayed behind, borrowing _Which Broomstick_ from Wood to read. On Saturday morning of the trip, the real Sakura went to Hogsmeade while she had Mirror stay behind with Harry. Mirror kept peeking over Harry's shoulder at the book he was reading, which annoyed him a bit. Eriol had also decided to stay behind with Harry, and enjoyed his free time confusing the poor lightning-scarred wizard. They had just bid goodbye to Sakura, Syaoran, Hermione, and Ron. As Harry, Mirror, and Eriol turned up the marble staircase to head back to Gryffindor Tower, Eriol decided to confuse Harry even more.

"The first book was made out of tree barks in A.D. 76, and the text was generated from mud. Of course, it wasn't that much successful, because the bark would rot after a month and the muddy writings would smudge against each other and run off the pages," Eriol said with a calm smile. "I do wish Yamazaki-kun was here. I enjoyed teaming up with him in these kinds of stuff."

"Huh?" Harry tilted his head, confused, as he stared at the Clow Reed reincarnation.

"Psst—Harry!" a voice whispered.

Harry turned to see Fred and George peeking out at him from behind a humpbacked, one-eyed witch statue. He frowned. "What are you doing? How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"

"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go," Fred winked. "Come in here. Oh, hello, Eriol."

"Hello, Fred," Eriol said, still smiling.

Harry was led into an empty classroom, and followed the Weasley twins inside. Eriol hurried quicky inside before George closed the door, curious as to knowing what they wanted to give to Harry. Mirror stood outside the closed door, staring at its wooden structure. George said to Harry that they had an early Christmas present for him as Fred pulled out a piece of parchment from his cloak. Harry and Eriol stared down at it.

"What's that supposed to be?" Harry asked.

"This, Harry, is the secret of our success." George grinned as he patted the parchment.

"It's a wrench, giving it to you," Fred piped in. "But we decided last night, your need's greater than ours."

"Anyway, we know it by heart," George said. "We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore.

Harry wondered what he would need with an old bit of parchment. Fred snorted as he pretended to be offended by Harry's statement. George explained about their First-Year days when they were young and carefree, to which Harry snorted with laughter, as they were always mischief-makers.

"Well, more innocent than we are now. We got into a spot of bother with Filch."

"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason--"

"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual—"

"Detention--"

"Disembowlment--"

"Sweet," Eriol grinned.

"--And we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked _Confiscated and Highly Dangerous_."

"Don't tell me," Harry started to grin.

"Well, what would you've done?" asked Fred. "George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open, and grabbed _this_."

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," George said. He went on to say how they didn't think Filch would ever find out how to work it.

"And you know how to work it?" Harry inquired.

"Oh, yes," Fred smirked. He glanced over at Eriol at the corner of his eyes. Eriol was grinning from ear to ear, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."

"You're winding me up," Harry said as he looked at the ragged bit of parchment.

"Oh, are we?" George asked as he took out his wand and lightly tapped the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"The three of us never are," Eriol grinned.

"Eriol, I think you and us could make a great team," Fred said, holding out a hand towards Eriol.

Eriol smiled as he shook it with gratitude. "I'm sure we will, Fred-kun."

Harry watched as thin ink lines began to spread on the parchment until curly green words spelled out the words that read: _Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Surveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present _THE MARAUDER'S MAP. The map showed every last detail of Hogwarts castle and grounds, along with tiny moving dots with labeled names in tiny writing underneath it. Harry stared, amazed. There were many passages he'd never entered. And many of them seemed to lead into Hogsmeade, according to Fred. Fred explained that there were seven of them, but only one worked, for the others were either blocked or Filch knew about some of them.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," George sighed. "We owe them so much."

"I'm sure you do," Eriol said.

"Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it," George told Harry.

"Or anyone can read it," Fred warned.

"Just tap it again and say 'mischief managed!' and it'll go blank." George advised.

After they left, Harry gazed down at the map once again. Eriol smiled as he looked at Harry's awed expression.

"Are you going to go?" Eriol asked. "You don't want to stay cooped up here in the castle while all your friends head off to Hogsmeade, do you?"

Harry frowned. "Mr. Weasley told me once to never trust anything that can think for itself, if I can't see where it keeps its brain."

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with this map," Eriol said. "And I definitely don't sense any dark aura from this map. So I proclaim it as just a map. By the way, where's Mirror? Wasn't she with us?"

"Uh-oh, I think we accidentally locked her out," Harry widened his eyes as he opened the classroom door. He saw Mirror standing before them, staring up at the two boys.

"Sorry about that," Harry apologized.

"That's okay. You probably didn't want me to hear," Mirror smiled.

"We're going to Hogsmeade," Eriol said to Mirror. "Since Sakura-san is over there, would it be of any trouble to you to turn back into a card?"

Mirror shook her head. "No, not at all, former master." She closed her eyes as she turned back into a card. Eriol took the card and put it in his pocket to give to Sakura once they arrived in Hogsmeade. He watched as Harry traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with his finger, and followed after him towards the statue that led there.

"_Dissendium_!" Harry whispered as he tapped the stone witch again after tapping it the first time.

The statue's hump began to open wide enough to let in a fairly thin person. Eriol checked to see if anyone was watching, then gave Harry the 'ok' to proceed through. Harry hoisted himself into the hole headfirst and pushed himself forward, sliding down the stone tunnel until he landed on cold, damp earth. Eriol came out of the exit a few seconds after Harry got out. Standing up, Eriol pushed his square-rimmed glasses back up against his face. Glancing around, Eriol noticed that it was pitched dark. He heard a _Lumos! _coming from Harry, followed by a small flicker of light that came from the tip of Harry's wand.

"Mischief managed!" Harry muttered as he tapped the map with his wand. The map went blank, and Harry folded it carefully. He looked at Eriol. "Well, here goes."

"After you, Harry-kun," Eriol smiled.

They trekked through the twisted tunnel that seemed like a long burrow. Harry hurried along it, stumbling now and then on the uneven floor. Eriol kept his composture, using his staff to balance him. After what felt like an hour, the passage began to rise. By this time, Harry was already panting as he sped up, his face hot and his feet cold. He looked behind him to see Eriol calmly following behind.

"Hey, Eriol."

"Yes?"

"How come you're not tired like me? We just spent what seemed like an hour in this tunnel!" Harry cried.

Eriol just smiled crookedly. "That is something that is only known to me."

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

Ten minutes later, they came to a trapdoor. Harry pushed it open and crawled out. He looked around him to see that he was in a cellar. Quickly, he got out of the cellar, with Eriol following silently behind him, until they reached the counter of Honeydukes. Eriol just stood there calmly while Harry searched around for his friends. He spotted Sakura giving Kero levitating sherbert balls, and Kero trying to stuff Every Flavour Beans into Suppi's mouth. He squeezed through a crowd of sixth years until he came to a sign hanging in the farthest corner of the shop. Hermione and Ron stood underneath the sign, looking at a tray of blood-flavored lollipops. Harry heard them discussing whether the blood-flavored lollipops would be good for him. When Ron suggested Cockroach Clusters, he spoke up, making Ron nearly drop the jar.

"Definitely not."

"Harry!" Hermione also was surprised to see Harry. "What are you doing here? How—how did you—?"

"Wow, you've learned to apparate!" Ron cried in an impressed manner.

"Course I haven't," Harry said as he lowered his voice and told them about the Marauder's Map. Ron seemed annoyed that Fred and George never gave it to him despite the fact that he was their brother. Hermione, however, had other thoughts. She wanted Harry to turn in the map to Professor McGonagall, to which Harry refused to do. As they went into further discussions about the map and how Sirius Black could use it to his advantage, Eriol Hiiragizawa strolled casually over to Sakura and Syaoran.

"Having a good time?"

"Eriol-kun, weren't you with Harry-kun? And where's Mirror?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"Harry-kun's over there with Ron-kun and Hermione-san," Eriol said, jerking his thumb in Harry's direction. "The Weasley twins gave him a special map that allowed him to get here without being seen by teachers. And I asked Mirror to turn back into a card."

Syaoran scoffed. "You and the Weasley twins would make a perfect team, with the mischief you love to cause."

"Funny. Fred said the same thing to me," Eriol grinned.

"Hey, they're leaving," Sakura said as she glanced in Harry, Ron, and Hermione's direction.

"I want to stay here," Kero said as he endorsed himself in sweetly heaven. "The sweets! They're so delicious!"

Sakura giggled. "We can't leave without you, so I'll buy you whatever you want."

"Yay! Sakura, you're the best!" Kero cried as he pointed to Sakura what he wanted. In the end, his mistress ended up buying him 10 bags of Honeyduke sweets. The sorcerers left the shop and continued walking down Hogsmeade, the falling snow cascading slowly from the sky. Sakura giggled as she ran forward and spun around excitedly, her arms spread out. She loved seeing snow, especially when they fluttered down from the sky as snowflakes. Stopping in front of a shop that read, The Three Broomsticks, she glanced at the doors. Syaoran caught up with her and seeing where she was staring at, whispered, "You've been here before. Actually, Mirror as you has been here before."

"Oh, really? Hmm…I've never actually tasted anything here myself, so I'll have a try," Sakura said as she walked into the pub. She sat down at a small table just as Eriol and Syaoran joined her. Syaoran offered to get Sakura some hot chocolate as he went up to Madam Rosmerta and ordered the drinks. Eriol got butterbeer for himself, because he wanted to see what it tasted like. Syaoran sighed as he set the hot chocolate down in front of Sakura.

"Here you go."

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Syaoran-kun," Sakura smiled.

Syaoran blushed. "Y-You're welcome." Seeing a Christmas tree move at the corner of his eyes, he frowned. "Did that Christmas tree just move?"

"Hoe?" Sakura glanced over at the tree. "I didn't see it move."

"It seems like the Minister of Magic has arrived along with Professors McGonagall and Flitwick," Eriol noted as he took a sip of his butterbeer. "This stuff is pretty good."

"Ugh, I don't like the taste of it. It's too strong," Syaoran made a face.

"Can I have a taste of it, Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked.

Eriol smiled. "Sure." He magically conjured up a straw for Sakura. She loomed over the drink as she sipped the butterbeer through the straw. She drew back immediately.

"Ack!" she cried.

"Mirror didn't like it either," Syaoran said. He then frowned upon hearing the adults that came in discussing Sirius Black. "Hey, they're talking about that murderer, Sirius Black."

"Hoe?"

"Now, now, children, it's not polite to eavesdrop," Eriol said as he took another sip of his butterbeer.

"Shut up, Hiiragizawa!" Syaoran growled as he listened in on the conversation. Sakura blinked. She didn't want to be rude, so she stayed out of the eavesdropping. Curiosity soon got the best of her when she saw Syaoran's amber eyes widening with shock, and joined in with him. Together, they heard about how Sirius Black used to be a good kid that went bad and betrayed the Potters, how he cursed a whole witness of Muggles, and how he was a supporter of Voldemort.

"T-That's awful," Sakura cried. "For Black to betray Harry's parents!"

"It's definitely cruel," Syaoran agreed.

Eriol stood up. "I have to get going. I have duties to do at home." He smiled at Sakura and Syaoran. "It was good seeing you two again. I'll come visit again next time."

"Eh? Already?" Sakura cried.

"Gomen ne, Sakura-san," Eriol apologized. "And Merry Christmas. You are going back home for the holidays, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Un!"

Eriol smiled at her before leaving the Three Broomsticks. Syaoran frowned as he finished drinking his hot chocolate.

"How's Harry-kun?" Sakura asked Ron and Hermione after seeing that Harry had been mopey for the entire evening.

"He's taking it pretty badly. We heard the conversation at the Three Broomsticks about Sirius Black," Hermione replied. "He's been very quiet at dinner."

"Yeah, and he won't talk to me when I went to check on him in the dormitory," Ron added.

Sakura frowned. "I don't think I'll be of any help to him, would I?"

"At this rate, probably not," Hermione sighed. "But you can try. You always have a positive effect on people. Anyway, everyone's leaving for Christmas tonight, so if you're going back to Japan to spend Christmas with your family, you might want to start packing now."

"Hoeee! I almost forgot!" Sakura cried.

Hermione laughed. "It's okay. It was a busy day, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Sakura grinned as she ran to her dormitory to pack some of her things for her trip back home for Christmas.


	10. Eternal Snow

Ch. 10: Eternal Snow

A/N: WHOOT, HIGH SCHOOL IS OVER FOR ME!! 8DDD I'm going to miss my friends and choir so much, though. Hopefully, I have enough time in my college years to come visit my high school. x3 I'm going to take as many courses as I can in college to brush up on my writing skills, because my writing is so middle-school right now. xD

* * *

"_Tadaima_!" Sakura cried upon entering the Kinomoto residence. She had just spent another long trip on the plane from England to Japan, and was pretty much tired. But she covered up her exhaustion by putting on a bright smile as she stepped through the threshold. Tomoyo's mother had picked her up from the airport that morning (Tomoyo had told her mother that Sakura had just come back from a boarding school in England). Syaoran had took another flight to Hong Kong to spend Christmas with his family. Just like in Europe, the streets of Tomoeda were also covered in white snow.

Hearing the sound of her voice, Touya smirked upon seeing his little sister enter the living room. "Hey, the kaijuu's back."

Angry veins appeared on Sakura's fist as she stampeded towards her brother, bringing her foot down on him when she was an inch away from him. Letting out a yelp of pain, Touya retracted as he grabbed his injured foot and hopped around. Sakura folded her arms and turned away with a 'hmph'.

"Welcome home, Sakura-san," Fujitaka smiled, emerging from the kitchen.

"Otousan! It's great to be back!" Sakura beamed.

"Would you like anything to eat? You must be hungry after that long trip," Fujitaka offered.

"Hai!"

"I'm going to visit Yuki. He's probably back as well," Touya announced before he left the house.

* * *

"So what was this Hogwarts like," Touya asked, sitting on the tatami mat in Yukito's house. Yukito had prepared tea for both of them.

Yukito smiled. "I didn't see much, because the other me took over most of the time, but from what I saw when I was me, it looked exciting. I've never seen so many wizards and witches before."

Touya nodded as Yukito continued talking about his experiences at Hogwarts. He then requested to speak to Yue. Yukito nodded as white wings covered his body, then parted as Yue stood in Yukito's place. Touya narrowed his eyes as he glanced up at the Moon Guardian.

"Nothing bad happened to her?"

"Kerberos supervised her more than I did, but yes, nothing serious happened to her. She let known about her magical abilities, however. Clow Reed's reincarnation Eriol told her not to, but she did it when she rescued a boy from danger," Yue said. "She got reckless, so now the entire school knows about the Sakura Cards."

"Heh, Sakura cares too much for her friends," Touya let out a laugh. "Always helping out someone in need."

Yue folded his arms as he averted his attention away from Touya, his icy-blue eyes staring at the zen garden outside. "Sakura-sama's powers has been growing stronger every day, and the new magic she's learning at the school is adding to that. I'll admit, she has surpassed Clow-sama. She will need to be more careful, especially since there might be others who want her powers."

"Sakura will stop at nothing to protect her friends and those she cares about," Touya sighed. "Being careful is nothing to her when it comes to that. She always puts herself last."

"I know."

* * *

"Xiao-Lang, you're back!"

Syaoran's four older sisters Fuutie, Fenren, Feimei, and Shiefa tackle-glomped him the moment he opened the front door. His face grew hot with embarrassment as they squealed over him. It wasn't until Yelan Li called for them to unlatch themselves from Syaoran that they finally broke away from him. Yelan strided gracefully towards her son, stopping a few feet away from him.

"Was it a good school?"

Syaoran nodded. "I learned new magic that I've never learned before. For instance," He demonstrated _Wingardium Leviosa_ using the wand he purchased from Diagon Alley.

"Ah, I see. And Miss Kinomoto? How is she?"

"She's growing stronger," Syaoran replied. "Many teachers have taken a liking towards her."

"SYAORAN!!" a high-pitched voice squealed.

Turning around, Syaoran immediately found himself on the floor as Meiling tackled him to the ground. He groaned as he sat back up. Managing a small smile, he looked at his cousin. "Hey, Meiling. How are things?"

Meiling grinned. "Who cares about me? Tell me everything! I want to hear about Hogwarts!"

Within the next hour, Syaoran told Meiling everything he had done at Hogwarts, how the castle was sealed off to non-magical people, and the incredible lessons he learned there. He left out the part about his boggart, because he didn't want Meiling to feel offended. When he finished, Meiling looked a bit envious.

"Aw, no fair! If only I had magic like you! You magic people always get all the fun!" Meiling cried.

Syaoran let out a scoff. "Well, it's not always fun. Right now, we're having a bit of a crisis. See, there's this bad wizard murderer that just broke out of the wizard prison, Azkaban, and he's on the loose. The Ministry of Magic is trying to recapture him."

"Scary! Anyway, how's Kinomoto-san?" Meiling asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"She's well," Syaoran smiled.

"That's good to hear," Meiling grinned. She stood up. "Well, we've got some time before Christmas dinner. What do you want to do?"

"I'm going to train a bit more, then take a stroll around the city, then call up Sakura," Syaoran said as he left the living room to go into his bedroom.

* * *

That night, both the Kinomoto and Li residence were lit up with bright strings of light. A Christmas wreath hung on both doors, and both lawns were decorated with Christmas props. Inside, a Christmas tree towered on the northern end of the living room in the Kinomoto house, and on the eastern end in the Li's.

"Meri kurisumasu!" Sakura cried at dinner.

"Meri kurisumasu, Sakura-san," Fujitaka smiled as he served his family the usual Japanese dinner meal, although there were festive food thrown in as well.

"When do we open presents?" Sakura asked.

"Right after dinner," Touya replied as he bit into his shrimp tempura.

"I can't wait to see what I got," Yukito said. Touya had invited him over for dinner.

The Kinomotos ate in mostly silence, with someone speaking up every now and then. Very soon into their meal, the doorbell rang. Sakura offered to get it as she rose from her seat. Opening the door, her emerald eyes widened upon seeing Tomoyo and Sonomi Daidouji.

"Tomoyo-chan, Daidouji-san!"

"We came by to drop you off a few presents," Tomoyo grinned as she held out four large, carefully wrapped giftbox. "Two are from me, and the other two are from my mom."

Sakura grinned back as she accepted the gift. "Arigatou gozaimasu!"

"Oh, and here's a present for Li-kun," Tomoyo added another gift ontop of the previous one in Sakura's hands. The wrapping was a light green with a pink bow attached to it. "Please give it to him when you see him again."

"I will!" Sakura nodded.

"Ah, Sonomi-san, Tomoyo-chan. Would you two like to stay for dinner?" Fujitaka asked, appearing in the hallway.

Sonomi scowled as she glared daggers at him. "Tomoyo-chan and I were just about to leave. We just came to give Sakura-chan her presents!" With a turn of her heels, she hastily walked out of the front door. Tomoyo bowed politely, then followed her mother out to the limo. Sakura carried the presents to the Christmas tree and placed them underneath all the other presents before returning to the kitchen table and finishing her meal.

After dinner ended, Sakura, Touya, Yukito, and Fujitaka sat around the tree, opening up their presents. Fujitaka received new kitchen hardware, some archaelogical books, and some new ties and collared-shirts. Touya got a pair of brand new sneakers and also some new clothing. For Yukito, he got gift baskets full of food along with a lunchbox. Sakura had received new clothings (5 dresses, 3 shirts and tops, 4 skirts, 6 pants, and 10 pairs of socks), an empty photo album, stationary, more stuffed animals, accessories for her hair, a new bookbag, a pink scarf, and finally, two new costumes handmade by Tomoyo. The costume had a similar style to the costume she wore when she captured the Song. The flappy part was white and bordered in royal blue, and there was a sapphire jewel in the center, followed by two blue horizontal lines beneath it. Pink was the dress's color, and was cut open in the front and was an inch shorter or two to display the blue underskirt beneath it. On the ruffles of the pink layered skirt were tiny wings. Underneath the blue underskirt was a series of ruffles. To go along with the dress was a pink cap with a yellow star that had blue ribbons protruding out of it as well as pink boots and gloves. (1)

Sakura stared at the costume in shock. This was the same costume that she wore in her dream! Putting the thought aside after a few seconds later, she pulled out the second costume from the second present that Tomoyo gave her. It was a short mint-colored dress that had ruffles at the top, along with a ruffly armband of the same color. Attached to the dress were light-blue fairy wings. Mint-colored pairs of oriental slippers came along with the costume. (2) She smiled as she held up both costumes. Tomoyo was an excellent costume designer. She decided to wear the first one on her day back to Hogwarts to show her wizard friends. After opening Tomoyo's presents, she opened Sonomi's. Tomoyo's mother had given her an expensive pink heart-shaped diamond necklace with tiny gold wings sprouting from both ends of the heart, along with a beautiful new pink kimono.

"Tomoyo-chan is very skilled in making clothes, isn't she?" Fujitaka chuckled.

"Un!" Sakura agreed. "Thank you for the presents! I love them all!"

Over at the Li residence, Syaoran received a new sword, new clothes and robes, a new scarf, and some new books. He seemed pretty content with his gifts. Meiling got new Chinese slippers, protective fighting gloves, and just like everybody else, new clothes. After they opened their presents, Meiling handed Syaoran a gift to give to Sakura when they meet again.

"Sakura will love this, so give it to her first thing when you meet up with her, kay?" Meiling winked.

"U-uh, sure," Syaoran said.

After Christmas day was over, Sakura spent the rest of winter break hanging out with her friends, catching up on stuff that she missed while she was at Hogwarts. She spent the most time at Tomoyo's house, and told Tomoyo more stories about her adventures in Hogwarts. Takashi Yamazaki's tall-tale stories still confused her, though, and for a while, thought they were actually true until Chiharu pulled him away ("Eriol-kun is not here anymore, so everything you say now is a lie!", she said).

The week after winter break ended, Sakura and Syaoran found themselves on the flight back to England, where they stayed with Eriol for the night before boarding the Hogwarts Express at Kings Cross station to go back to Hogwarts. Sakura was dressed in the new pink costume she had received from Tomoyo on Christmas, and Syaoran wore his traditional green robes. The two were greeted by Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were excited upon seeing them return.

"Your Muggle friend made this?" Hermione asked as she examined Sakura's costume. "It looks great on you!" She turned to Syaoran. "And that's a really nice robe. I don't exactly approve of the color, though. Is it new?"

Syaoran shook his head. "Nope. This is my traditional Li-clan battle robe. Green's actually my favorite color. Not because it's a Slytherin color."

"Oh, Syaoran-kun, Tomoyo-chan told me to give you this. It's a Christmas gift from her," Sakura said as she took out a carefully-wrapped present from her book bag and handed it to Syaoran.

Taking it, Syaoran opened it carefully, then tossed away the wrappings covering the actual gift. He pulled out a silky bright-green cloak decorated with Chinese dragons with a winged pin in the center.

"Ooh, that looks wonderful!" Hermione squealed, lavishing over the cloak's elegant designs.

"So what have you guys been doing?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, not much. Buckbeak—you know, the hippogriff—is getting executed, and Harry got the Firebolt, but Hermione here had to tell Professor McGonagall about it and so now she's confiscated it and Harry doesn't have a broom anymore!" Ron growled as he shot a glare at Hermione.

"Well, it could've been sent to him by Sirius Black! Who knows what he could've done with it!" Hermione argued back. "Besides, they'll probably give it back to him after they check it through!"

"Oh, right, after they strip it down to the last splinter," Ron said sarcastically.

"Hoeeee…." Sakura sweatdropped.

The morning started off with Care of Magical Creatures, in which Hagrid taught them about salamanders. Then in Divination, Professor Trelawney taught them palmistry. She informed Harry that he had the shortest life line she had ever seen. Sakura sat there bored in class as she fingered the Sakura Cards in her pocket. When were they going to get to the subject of tarot cards? Also, hearing about Harry living a short life was bugging her a bit as well. Defense Against the Dark Arts made up for the boredom though. After class ended, Sakura gathered up her things to head off to dinner with Syaoran. Glancing behind her, she saw Harry approaching Professor Lupin. She guessed that he probably was seeking assistance from Professor Lupin, and that it wasn't something for her to worry about.

"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" Ron said as they walked down the corridors towards the Great Hall. "What d'you reckon's the matter with him?"

Hermione let out a loud scoff behind them. Ron looked irritable as he asked her what she was tutting at them for. Hermione denied it, but Ron thought otherwise. Finally, Hermione stood up and marched off haughtily.

"She doesn't know," Ron said. "She's just trying to get us to talk to her again."

After dinner, Sakura decided to take a bit of a stroll outside along with Syaoran. Glancing up at the sky, Sakura noticed that some of the stars were already starting to appear in the night sky. A bright smile spread across her features as she tilted her head back. She had never seen this many stars before. The grass below her feet rustled gently as the leaves on the tree swayed slightly. She felt a mixture of warm and cool air hit her as she stood there in the open. Syaoran walked up next to her, his amber eyes on her.

"Do you think we'll be able to come back here again next year?"

"I don't know," Sakura said. "But I hope so. It's been a wonderful experience, being here and learning everything about the magical world." Suddenly, she turned to Syaoran. "Syaoran-kun…..I had that dream again."

Syaoran blinked. "Again?"

Sakura nodded. "Un. This time, I saw someone that looked like Harry trying to protect a man from what looked like the same number of dementors we saw at the Quidditch match. Then there was this bright light, and the dementors disappeared." She sighed. "I don't know what my dream is trying to tell me."

"Well, I'm guessing it's bound to start happening soon, since your dream is starting to grow more vivid. Did you see who the man in your dream was yet?" Syaoran asked.

Shaking her head no, Sakura replied, "I still can't see who he was. And in the recent dream I had, the man with the cut-off finger on his right hand wasn't in there anymore. I just saw him in that one dream, and then after that, I didn't see him anymore. He looked really creepy too."

Syaoran frowned. "Wait, the man with the cut-off finger. Didn't we hear Professor McGonagall and Flitwick and the Minister for Magic say that Sirius Black murdered some man named Peter Pettigrew and left only Pettigrew's finger as evidence?"

"Hoe? Oh, yeah…." Sakura put a finger to her lips. "But if Pettigrew-san is dead, then surely the man with his index finger cut off from his right hand must be someone else. I wonder if I should tell Eriol-kun about this."

"No, don't make him worried too," Syaoran said. "Anyway, it's getting late. We better get back inside."

Sakura nodded as she followed Syaoran back inside and headed up to the Common Room. Unknown to them, a large black dog had been listening in to their conversation from the shadows of the trees.

* * *

(1) The first costume that Tomoyo gave Sakura for Christmas looks like this: amami-chan./art/Sakura-Kinomoto-spam-88497088 (the centered one)

(2) the second costume is the one with the fairy wings in the link I provided for #1.


	11. Sakura and the Recurring Dreams

Ch. 11: Sakura and the Recurring Dreams

* * *

At the start of term, Ravenclaw played against Slytherin for a week, and in the end, Slytherin won. This proved good news to the Gryffindors, because they would be able to take second place if they defeat Ravenclaw. Quidditch practice for Gryffindor was increased to five times a week, meaning Harry only had one night a week to complete his homework. Hermione looked the most stressful, however, and was snappy whenever she was interrupted. Ron wondered how Hermione was able to get to all her classes.

"How Sakura and Syaoran did it makes more sense, because Sakura has those Sakura Cards Mirror and Twin that can go in their places while they go to their other classes, but I don't see how Hermione's doing it," Ron continued.

Seconds later, Harry was interrupted by Oliver Wood, who bared bad news to him about McGonagall not wanting to give the Firebolt back. He then suggested Harry get a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, the same broom that Draco had, but Harry decided against it, not wanting to buy anything Draco thought was good.

"Harry!" Sakura called as she approached him. "If you want, I can lend you Fly."

Harry smiled meekly. "Sorry, Sakura. Brooms only."

"Then, would you like to borrow my Stardust?"

Harry shook his head once again. "It's okay, Sakura. Really. Don't feel bad because my old broom broke. Anyway, did you finish Snape's essay?"

A sweatdrop rolled down Sakura's head. "Hoeeee….."

"You didn't finish it?"

Sakura shook her head. "Iie. I got stuck after the 3rd page…..he's going to hate me so much now."

"Well, I can help you a bit if you want me to. What part are you on in your essay?" Harry asked.

Lighting up, Sakura beamed cheerfully as she threw her arms around Harry. "Uwaah! Arigatou!" She settled her backpack down on the table, then pulled out 3 rolls of parchment. Harry noticed that Sakura had neatly written her essay in pink ink. For the next two hours, he helped Sakura with her essay, pointing out things she didn't really need to add in.

February soon came, and the match against Ravenclaw drew near. Harry still hadn't had a new broom, and Professor McGonagall still wouldn't give him back his Firebolt. He kept asking her after Transfiguration, but McGonagall wouldn't let him have his broom back yet. Meanwhile, Sakura's strange dream began to occur more often than she had hoped. She had been shaken awake in classes just because she was talking in her sleep, and now, every time she closed her eyes, even when she wasn't sleeping, the dream would pop up into her mind. Syaoran grew more concerned about Sakura's dreams, and never hesitated to warn her about being careful. Seeing Professor Trelawney about it didn't make it any better, either, for she kept asking the Cardmistress if she had any dreams about Harry dying, to which Sakura shook her head 'no'. Harry, on the other hand, was going through anti-dementor lessons with Professor Lupin so he could ward off the dementors the next time they attacked.

After his lesson, Harry headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room, lost in his thoughts. He walked straight into Professor McGonagall halfway up the stairs. She sternly told him to watch where he was going, but then said to Harry that they had done all examinations on the Firebolt, and that Harry could have it back. Harry looked joyous as Professor McGonagall handed out the Firebolt to him.

"I can have it back?" Harry asked. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Professor McGonagall smiled. "And do try and win this for us. Professor Snape has kindly reminded me last night that if we don't win, we'll be out of the running for eight years in a row."

Harry carried the Firebolt up towards Gryffindor Tower, catching Ron grinning from ear to ear as he rounded a corner. They discussed how Harry got his broom back until they reached the Common Room. Neville had been waiting outside the tower, pleading with Sir Cadogan that he had lost the password. When Harry entered the Common Room, he looked around for Sakura and Syaoran. Instead, he saw Yue leaning against the wall, his arms folded and his eyes closed. He frowned. Yue hadn't done much since he arrived here at Hogwarts. Hesitantly, Harry approached the Moon Guardian. Sensing Harry's presence, Yue grumpily opened up one eye.

"What is it?" he asked coldly.

"Um….I was wondering if you know where Sakura is," Harry said nervously.

"I haven't seen her for the past two hours. Kerberos probably would know. He has been with mistress more than I have." Yue said flatly.

"Erm, thanks, Yue." Harry muttered as he turned around and searched for Kero. He found Kero munching his head off on Honeyduke sweets, and laughed a bit. He had never seen such a creature get so worked up about sweets before. Walking up to the small beast, Harry kneeled down.

"Hey, Kero."

Kero looked up at Harry with small, beady eyes. "Oh, you're that Potter kid, right?"

"Err…yeah….listen, do you know where Sakura and Syaoran are?" Harry asked.

Pointing his tiny yellow arm towards the outside, Kero told Harry that the two of them were outside, discussing Sakura's dream further. Harry frowned.

"Again?"

Kero nodded. "These dreams started ever since she came here. We don't know what the dream is trying to tell her yet, though."

Harry nodded silently, then headed over to the window. He lifted the window up using his magic and poked his head out. Seeing Sakura and Syaoran down below, he waved his arms as he called their names. Syaoran looked a bit annoyed as he tilted his head up, while Sakura beamed back at Harry. Her expression turned to shock and surprise when Harry held out his returned Firebolt for the two sorcerers to see.

"GUESS WHAT I GOT BACK?!"

"HARRY-KUN, THAT'S GREAT!" Sakura yelled back. "DID MCGONAGALL-SENSEI GIVE IT BACK TO YOU?"

"YEAH! SHE GAVE IT TO ME AFTER I WAS COMING BACK FROM MY ANTI-DEMENTOR LESSONS!" Harry shouted back with a grin.

"SPEAKING OF WHICH, HOW WERE THE LESSONS?"

"THEY'RE COMING ALONG FINE!!"

"Sakura, you might want to go back up to the Gryffindor Tower if you want to talk more with Potter," Syaoran frowned. "If you and Harry keep screaming at each other like this, we'll all get detentions."

"Okay," Sakura said as she ran back inside and up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. She told Sir Cadogan the password, who swung his portrait open for her to enter. Syaoran joined her a few minutes later, a look of triumph on his face. He had won again against his duel with Sir Cadogan, who was extremely disappointed that he lost.

Harry became surrounded by his fellow Gryffindors, who chattered excitedly about the Firebolt. Ron looked haughty as he told Hermione that there was nothing wrong with the broom. He then offered to take Harry's broom upstairs, since he had to give Scabbers his rat tonic anyway. Harry sat down next to Hermione and glanced around at the messy table full of Hermione's homework. He asked her how she was getting through her classes, but Hermione only told him that she had been working hard. Harry tried suggesting Hermione drop a couple of subjects, like Arithmancy, but Hermione wouldn't do it. She then glanced over at Sakura and Syaoran.

"Those two have been talking seriously with each other more than ever, especially after dinner," she said.

"Yeah…it's because of that dream Sakura keeps having. You know how she sees the future through her dreams," Harry replied.

Hermione laughed a bit. "If she was any older, she could've been a much better Divination teacher than Professor Trelawney. Sakura makes more sense, and she wouldn't waste time in class predicting deaths."

Just then, a loud scream erupted from the boys' staircase. Everyone stopped to hear what was going on and stared at the entrance. Ron emerged from it, carrying a bedsheet in his hands. He marched angrily up to Hermione, shaking it in her face. Hermione looked shock as she leaned away from Ron.

"W-what?"

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!" Ron cried. After a stunned silence, he screamed again. "BLOOD! HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?!"

Hermione had no clue as to what Ron was going on about. Furiously, Ron threw something on her rune translations. Sakura and Syaoran had stridden over just in time to see the pile of ginger cat hair. Sakura gulped as she looked at Ron, his face red and full of anger, then at Hermione. Hermione looked stricken for a moment, then denied the fact that Crookshanks had anything to do with it. For the next couple of days, Hermione and Ron didn't speak with each other. Ron's siblings tried to cheer him up, but failed in doing so. Even Fred and George couldn't keep Ron's hopes up with their sense of humor. Finally, Harry attempted to cheer Ron up by persuading him to come to the Gryffindor final practice before the Ravenclaw match. It worked a bit, so they walked off towards the Quidditch field together. They found Sakura sitting on the sidelines, flipping through her Sakura Cards, and Syaoran swinging his sword around aimlessly at the air. Both sorcerers looked up when they saw Harry and Ron walk up.

"Ron-kun, genki desu ka?" Sakura asked.

Ron looked solemn. "I'm not fine, thanks. And I'm still mad at Hermione for denying that her cat ate Scabbers."

"Ehehehe…" Sakura sweatdropped.

"Oh, come on, this is pathetic," Syaoran growled as he walked over to them. "It's been days and weeks since you two stopped talking to each other. How long are you going to keep this up?"

"Until Hermione apologizes and admits she's wrong!" Ron said stubbornly.

Madam Hooch, who was still supervising the Quidditch practice to watch over Harry, looked impressed with the Firebolt, and examined it before takeoff and gave the team her opinion about it. She became lost in her rambles until Oliver asked that Harry get his broom back so they could practice. Sakura watched as the Gryffindor Quidditch team practiced their moves for their next match against Ravenclaw. Ron later took a ride on the Firebolt with Harry's permission.

Later that night, Sakura sat up in her bed, her knees drawn close to her chest, as she thought about her premonitions. She glanced outside at the moon. Its silvery beam pierced through the windows and curtains, creating a small bit of light in the girls' dormitory. She sighed heavily as she tried to shake her thoughts off about the dream and attempted to go back to sleep, but couldn't. For a few hours, Sakura laid quietly in bed until her eyes decided that they were tired and needed sleep.

"_Harry, I as good killed them. I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me. I'm to blame, I know it," the same man with dark matted hair said. "The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies, I realized what Peter must've done, what I'd done..." _

"_Enough of this!" Lupin shouted. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat!" _

"_What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked tensely. _

"_Force him to show himself. If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him," Lupin explained. _

_Later…_

"_Believe me, believe me, Harry! I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them!" _

"_GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU FILTHY, DESPICABLE RAT!!" Syaoran yelled as he drew his sword._

The next morning, Sakura arrived in the Great Hall, this time quiet. She didn't even greet anyone good morning as she took her seat at the Gryffindor table. The Weasleys all looked at one another, confused. Sakura had always been cheerful every morning, and usually greeted them all first thing in the morning before she sat down at the tables. Even Draco, after being told off by Harry, stared at Sakura, wondering why she hadn't spoken two words to him that morning. Narrowing his amber eyes, Syaoran asked to speak with Sakura after breakfast. After breakfast, the two of them went outside to talk more.

"I heard……that same man….say that he would never have betrayed Harry's parents, that he would've died before he did so," Sakura spoke softly as she glanced up at the clouds. "And then……..I felt that other man's hands on my skirt, and heard him trying to plead with me like he did with the others in my dream. Then you told him to get away from me and drew your sword……"

"Sakura, I think we might have to leave. Your dream, they're becoming more dangerous! A-and I think you just gave me a clue as to who that first man you saw in your dreams is. I think that's Sirius Black."

"Hoe?"

"Well, you said that he said he never betrayed Harry's parents in your dreams. How do we know he's not lying and that he's manipulating your dreams?"

"No one can get into my dreams," Sakura frowned. "My dreams are mine alone."

Syaoran sighed. "Well, just be careful, okay?"

"Syaoran-kun, you've been telling me that for the past couple of weeks. I'll be fine. _Zettai daijoubu dayo!_" Sakura smiled.

Syaoran clenched his fists. "I'm just worried about you, Sakura. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Thanks for caring for me, Syaoran-kun."

Suddenly hearing cheering from a distance away, Sakura grinned as she turned to Syaoran. "Looks like Gryffindor won."

Syaoran grinned back upon seeing the Gryffindor Quidditch team march back up into the castle with triumph on their faces. "Yeah…"

That night, the Gryffindor party went on until one in the morning, when Professor McGonagall showed up to tell them to go to bed. Once again, Sakura had another dream. Harry, on the other hand, was experiencing a strange dream as well. Suddenly, both were woken up along with the others as Ron's scream pierced through the Gryffindor tower. A commotion erupted afterwards, and few girls had come down the staircase, yawning and pulling on their dressing gowns. Sakura ran over to Syaoran, who pulled her into his protecting arms. Percy tried to get them all back upstairs. Ron faintly told Percy that Sirius Black had just been in the boys' dormitory with a knife and woke him up. Professor McGonagall soon arrived, looking disappointed in Percy's lack of orders, but Percy told her that his brother Ron had a nightmare

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE! PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!!"

"N-nani?! Sirius Black was here, inside Gryffindor Tower?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Seems like it."

They watched as Professor McGonagall went out of the Common Room, then come back, a dark look on her face.

"Which person….which abysmally idiotic person left the passwords out for Sirius Black to obtain?" she asked.

For a while, there was silence. Then Neville Longbottom emerged from the crowd, meekly raising his hand. Sakura widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Neville-kun….."

"I didn't mean to!" Neville said to her. "I'm such a forgetful person!"

Once again, the students had to sleep out in the Great Hall. Sir Cadogan was fired, and his portrait was taken down to the lonely basement. Filch managed to find the Fat Lady and bring her back to her post, but the Fat Lady demanded that she have protection around her. Sakura brung up her dreams with Harry, who seemed surprised, because he just recently had the same dream as her.

"Were you chasing after something silvery-white?" he asked her.

Sakura shook her head. "I wasn't chasing after it. I saw a boy chasing after it from where I stood in my dream."

"So, you saw me running after the silvery-white thing," Harry said slowly. "That's weird."

"Mm..." Sakura replied. "Anyway, congratulations on winning your match."

"Thanks."

"So what's on our schedules tomorrow?"

"The usual."

"I'm so glad I got a 7 on that essay in Potions. It was really tiresome. I have to thank you for helping me with that," Sakura smiled.

Harry smiled back. "Eh, it was nothing at all."

"Hey, Sakura, do you have a card in there somewhere that can make these people go back to sleep?" Percy asked as he approached Sakura. "Geez, none of them want to listen!"

Sakura giggled. "After that little excitement, it's hard not to. But yeah, I have a card that can do that. The Sleep Card."

"Good. Can you put them all to sleep?" Percy frowned.

"Uh…….okay?" Sakura blinked as she released her Star Wand and summoned Sleep. A tiny fairy trailed from the card into the air, flying around the Great Hall as she sprinkled sleep powder onto the students. Seconds later, the Great Hall grew quiet, all except for Sakura, Syaoran, and Percy.

"Thanks a lot," Percy sighed with relief as he looked gratefully at Sakura.

"No problem." Sakura said as she went back to sleep.


	12. Sakura and the Black Dog

Ch. 12: Sakura and the Black Dog

A/N: So uh, I graduated yesterday. Whoo?

* * *

For the rest of the day, the students saw tight security around the school. Professor Flitwick was seen teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black, Filch marched up and down the corridors, boarding every little crack he found in the walls. Sir Cadogan was fired, and the Fat Lady came back on condition that she would be given extra protection. On the other hand, Ron got himself a little bit of fame.

Professor McGonagall had never been so furious with Neville before. She banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, gave him a detention, and prohibited anyone to give him the password into the tower. However, these punishments didn't come close to what his grandmother had waiting for him. Two days after the intrusion, Neville received a Howler at breakfast. A huge barn owl landed in front of him, a scarlet envelope in its beak.

"Run for it, Neville," Ron whispered.

Without a second thought, Neville took the envelope and bolted out of the Great Hall while the Slytherin table roared with laughter. They heard the Howler go off in the entrance hall, followed by Neville's grandmother shrieking about how Neville had brought shame on the entire family. Sakura and Syaoran sweatdropped as they glanced at one another, then out the Great Hall doors.

"S-scary," Sakura said.

"Y-yeah," Syaoran agreed.

"That's a Howler," Ginny explained. "Not exactly the best thing to get first thing in the morning at breakfast. Oh, yeah, how'd you sleep last night?"

Sakura smiled. "Great."

"Oh, Sakura, I forgot to give you this last month. This was a Christmas present from Meiling." Syaoran said as he pulled out a pink giftbox and gave it to Sakura. "She probably hates me now for forgetting to give you this."

"Meiling-chan has a present for me? Uwaah!" Sakura cried as she opened Meiling's gift. She lifted a blue jewelry box and opened it, then took out a silvery charm bracelet with a cherry blossom and wolf charm ornaments. Her emerald eyes lit up as she put it around her left wrist. "Kirei!"

"That looks pretty, Sakura," Hermione grinned upon seeing the charm bracelet on the Cardmistress's wrist.

"Un!" Sakura beamed.

"Sakura, Syaoran, do you guys want to come with us to Hagrid's at six in the afternoon? He only addressed Ron and I to come, but I was wondering if you two would—" Harry began.

"No problem," Sakura said with a smile.

"Okay, then. Meet us at the Entrance Hall. He wants us to wait there for him," Harry advised.

After breakfast, they went straight to their classes. Sakura and Syaoran had Herbology first, followed by Potions, History of Magic, and Charms. Then at six in the afternoon, the sorcerers met up with Harry and Ron in the entrance hall. They saw Hagrid there as well.

"Hagrid-san, konnichiwa!" Sakura exclaimed as she took a bow.

"Hello there, Sakura," Hagrid said.

"All right, Hagrid," Ron said. "S'pose you want to hear about Saturday night, do you?"

"I've already heard all abou' it," Hagrid replied as he opened the front door and led them outside. Ron looked slightly downcast that Hagrid knew.

The first thing they saw upon entering Hagrid's cabin was Buckbeak. Sakura immediately rushed over to it and hung around him while Syaoran, Harry, and Ron spoke with Hagrid. Hagrid explained about Buckbeak's case against the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, and how Hermione felt extremely unhappy and lonely lately.

"Daijoubu," Sakura said to Buckbeak as she stroked its feathers. "Zettai daijoubu dayo! We'll make sure we win this case!"

"She's quite the optimistic one, isn't she?" Hagrid chuckled, overhearing Sakura.

Syaoran nodded. "Yep."

The following weekend, there was another Hogsmeade trip. Sakura bid good luck to Harry on sneaking into Hogsmeade before she left with Syaoran, Ron, and the other students. Hermione had stayed behind to continue working on Buckbeak's case.

"I wonder why it's always so snowy here," Sakura wondered as she walked through the snow.

"That's how it is," Fred explained. "The snow never melts here."

"Sugoi."

"Potter's here," Harry said.

Pulling down a bit of his Invisibility Cloak to reveal his face, Harry stared at Syaoran. "How'd you know?"

Syaoran frowned. "Unlike you wizards, we sorcerers can sense auras. Meaning we can detect people before they show up."

"Amazing," Ron said with fascination.

The four of them visited the post office, where Ron pretended to check the price tags of an owl to Bill in Egypt. Sakura delighted herself in trying to make friends with the owls. Next, they went to Zonkos, where they bought joke-shop items like Dungbombs and Stink Pellets. Afterwards, they climbed a slope to visit the Shrieking Shack, a haunted place in Britain. Ron explained how even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid it, and how no one can get in.

"Hoeeeeeeeeee!" Sakura cried fearfully as she latched herself onto Syaoran's arm.

"Weasley, did you _have_ to mention that?" Syaoran glared. "Have you forgotten Sakura's scared of scary things?"

"I-I'm alright," Sakura said shakily.

Just then, they heard voices coming from nearby. Sakura turned around to see Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle coming down the hill. She heard Draco talk about how Hagrid should've gotten an owl from his father by now. Draco's eyes caught sight of Ron, and smirked.

"What are you doing, Weasley?" Draco asked. He glanced at the house behind Ron. "Suppose you'd love to live there, wouldn't you, Weasley? Dreaming about having your own bedroom? I heard your family all sleep in one room—is that true?"

"Mou, Malfoy-kun, that's not nice!" Sakura frowned.

"Whatever," Draco rolled his eyes. "I don't see why you're hanging around these losers."

"They're my friends," Sakura said.

"Pfft," Draco scoffed. "Anyway, come with me. I've got something to show you." He grabbed Sakura's wrist and tried to pull her away from her friends. However, Sakura refused to move, and struggled to wrench her wrist free from Draco. Draco glared at her.

"Fine, stick around with your loser friends," he growled. "But you wouldn't get anything fun from out of them." Draco turned his attention to Ron. "We were just discussing your friend Hagrid. Just trying to imagine what he's saying to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. Do you think he'll cry when they cut off his hippogriff's—"

Suddenly, mud flew at the back of Draco's head. He, Crabbe, and Goyle spun around wildly, looking to see where the mud came from. Draco tried to rid the mud from his hair. He glowered at Sakura.

"Alright, you did this, didn't you? Which card is it?" he demanded.

Sakura looked innocent. "I didn't do anything. My wand isn't even out."

"Very haunted up there, isn't it?" Ron said.

Crabbe and Goyle were suddenly splattered with mud. Goyle tried to rub the mud from his eyes. Draco pointed out that the mud came from a spot six feet away to the left of Harry. Sakura and Syaoran doubled over with laughter as Crabbe did a kind of pirouette in mid-air, trying to see who had thrown the mud. He started towards Ron, but Harry stuck out his leg. Stumbling, Crabbe's foot caught the hem of Harry's cloak, and the cloak slid off Harry's face.

"AAAAAAAARRRGGGH!!" Draco screamed as he pointed at Harry's visible head. He whirled around and ran as fast as he could, with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

"Harry!" Ron cried. "You better run for it! If Malfoy tells anyone—you'd better get back to the castle, quick!"

"See you later," Harry said as he took off back down the path towards Hogsmeade.

"I'm going too," Sakura said. "See you tonight at dinner!" She followed the path that led down to Hogsmeade, then up the hill towards Hogwarts castle. As she came close to the castle, near the Black Lake, she saw a large black dog sitting calmly near the edge of the cliffs. It stared at her with gleaming gray eyes. Sakura blinked as she cautiously approached it. Seeing that the dog was calm and harmless, she knelt down before it.

"Inu-san, are you lost?" she asked.

The dog walked slowly up to her, then nudged her gently with its nose as it let out a soft whimper. Sakura giggled as she stroked its dark fur. "Kawaii!"

_That Weasley boy's pet rat is not a real rat. He's an Animagus! A despicable one at that. _

"Hoe?" Sakura glanced around wildly. Where did the voice come from? It sounded a lot like the voice of the person in her dreams. "Who said that?"

She felt the dog nudge her again. Sakura frowned. "I have to go back to Hogwarts. Gomen ne. Oh, you look thin. Have you eaten? Ano, I picked this up in Hogsmeade. Hope you like it." She held out some treats.

_I've listened to your conversations with that Li boy. Your dreams are real. What you've heard me say in your dreams is true. I am not a murderer. _

"W-Where's that voice coming from?" Sakura asked, now feeling a bit freaked out. "Black-san….?" She glimpsed down at the black dog, who was slowly eating the treats. Standing up, Sakura headed back to the castle. The dog stopped eating and glanced up to see Sakura walking back up to Hogwarts.

_I hope we meet again...Sakura. I didn't want to show my true self to you, because I didn't want to frighten you. But sooner or later, you'll learn everything. Until then, be safe._

"Kero-chan!" Sakura cried as she ran up to Gryffindor Tower. She found him eating ice cream that Neville had brought up for him.

Kero looked up. "Oh, hi, Sakura. How was Hogsmeade?"

"Fun as usual," Sakura grinned. "And I came across this black dog on the way back here. It looked a bit thin, so I fed it. It was cute, too!" She glanced over at Hermione. "Hermione-chan, daijoubu?"

Hermione looked at Sakura. "S-S-Sakura. Buckbeak. Hagrid lost the case. Buckbeak's going to be executed!"

Widening her eyes, Sakura gasped with horror. "N-nani?"

"Oh, here comes Harry and Ron. I have to tell them about this too!" Hermione said as she took the letter in her hands and headed down the stairs. Minutes later, Syaoran, Ron, and Harry were up in the common room with Hermione. Sakura glanced at Harry.

"Harry-kun, what happened after--"

"Snape caught me. I had to show him the Marauders' Map. It insulted him when he tried to see what was inside. Then Professor Lupin confiscated it from me and lectured me," Harry explained.

"Gomen nasai."

"Don't feel bad. I would've been allowed to go to Hogsmeade if my aunt and uncle weren't so neglectful. And I blew my chance of getting it signed when I accidentally blew up Aunt Marge," Harry said.

"Hoeee…."

"Harry was let off easily by the Minister," Hermione added. "Wizards aren't allowed to perform magic in the presence of a Muggle or outside of Hogwarts until they turn 17."

"I see…." Sakura said. "I think its different for us sorcerers, because we have Muggle friends who know about us. Of course, Tomoyo-chan's the only friend who knows about me and my magic. And we never get in trouble if our magic is exposed."

"Wow," Ron said.

During Care of Magical Creatures the next day, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sakura, and Syaoran tried comforting Hagrid about Buckbeak's lost case. Sakura and Ron tried to encourage Hagrid to not give up. Draco didn't make it any easier with his taunting, and earned himself a slap across the face from Hermione as she called him vile names. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle then retreated down the passageway into the dungeons. Ron stared at Hermione with disbelief. Hermione demanded that Harry beat Draco in the Quidditch final.

They went to Charms class. Unfortunately, they were late. Their lesson for the day was to practice the Cheering Charm. Ron looked behind him to see if Hermione was there, but she wasn't. Sakura did well with the Cheering Charm, and was alive with spirit before she even said the incantation for the charm. Professor Flitwick commented on her cheerful nature and awarded her 5 points.

Throughout lunch, Hermione was absent as well. They finally found her sitting at a table, sleeping on an open Arithmancy book. Harry prodded her awake. Hermione looked downcast and disappointed that she had missed Charms. She then went off to see Professor Flitwick to apologize.

In Divination, Professor Trelawney introduced the crystal ball to them. There was a lot of silent giggles and a tut from Hermione as they gazed into their crystal balls. Syaoran folded his arms and refused to participate. This was ridiculous!

"There is something here," Professor Trelawney said as she gazed up at Harry. "It is here, plainer than before. My dear, stalking ever towards you, the Gr—"

"Oh, for goodness' sake! Not that ridiculous Grim again!" Hermione shouted.

Professor Trelawney glared at Hermione with anger. Parvati and Lavender were glaring at her, too. "I'm sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane."

"Five, four, three, two, one….." Syaoran counted.

"Fine! Fine!" Hermione snapped as she stood up. "I give up! I'm leaving!"

"And there she goes," Syaoran muttered as he watched Hermione leave. Standing up, he looked at Professor Trelawney. "I'm dropping this class as well. And by the way, Gryffindor will win the Quidditch final. Malfoy will try to cheat his way towards winning. And I didn't need a crystal ball or any of these junk to help me see that." After he said that, he disappeared down the stairs under the trapdoor.

"Some day Hermione's having, eh?" Ron muttered to Harry. "And Syaoran! Wow, that was impressive. I wonder if Gryffindor will really win."

"I hope so," Harry grinned. "But I have to watch out for Malfoy. Syaoran said he'll try and cheat his way into winning."


	13. Sakura's Birthday

Ch. 13: Sakura's Birthday

A/N: For those of you who want a translation of the Japanese words or phrases used in this fanfic, I'll make a glossary of it after I'm finished with the fanfic, because that makes it a little easier on me and I don't want to give translations on every chapter I do.

* * *

"Happy birthday Sakura!" Kero cried on the first of April.

"H-happy birthday," Syaoran stammered.

Beaming, Sakura smiled brightly at both of them. "Arigatou gozaimasu!"

"Sakura-chan, happy birthday," Yukito smiled. He had been transformed back from Yue into his Muggle self.

"Sakura, it's your birthday today?" Hermione asked, hearing 'happy birthdays' being said over and over at the Cardmistress. "Happy birthday! Oh, if I had known, I would've gotten you something."

"Did I hear right?" Fred grinned as he and George came up to Sakura. "Our Sakura Kinomoto's birthday falls on April Fools?" He gave Sakura a tight hug. "To be born on the day of pranks and mischief…I'm so proud!"

"It's also our birthday as well," George said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hoe? What's April Fools?" Sakura blinked in confusion.

George's mouth dropped open. Together, he and Fred feigned horror. Everyone else except Sakura, Syaoran, Yukito, and Kero were also bewildered. "You've never heard of April Fools?"

"It's not celebrated in Japan," Yukito spoke up. "It's just a regular day in our country."

"Blasphemy!" Fred said. "Anyway, happy birthday, Sakura. We would've gotten you something if we had known."

"Like joke-shop items, I presume," Percy said as he joined them. He looked at Sakura. "Happy birthday, Sakura. I do hope you enjoy this last-minute gift from me." He handed her a book of magical laws. Sakura sweatdropped as she flipped through the book.

"Hoee…."

"Brilliant, Perce. Give a little girl a book that already confuses her," Fred snorted.

Percy frowned. "Well, it's better than nothing. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got matters to attend to. Once again, happy birthday, Sakura."

By breakfast, everybody had learned of the Cardmistress's birthday. They crowded around her, wishing her congratulations on turning 14. By breakfast, the entire school had learned of Sakura's birthday. Boys swarmed around her, shoving all types of flowers in her face. Sakura laughed nervously as a sweatdrop rolled down her head. She didn't expect that much attention, nor did she even want it. In the background, Syaoran raised a fist in anger as he glared at the boys. Fred and George commented on how they never got this much attention on their birthday like Sakura did. Gazing up at the staff table, Sakura saw Dumbledore smiling, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. Her eyes drifted over to Professor Snape, who looked a bit annoyed.

Just then, a bunch of owls flew into the Great Hall, with letters, newspapers, and gifts in their talons. Four owls swooped down over Sakura's table and dropped four gifts in front of her. Peering at them, she blinked. One was from Tomoyo, another was from Meiling, followed by Eriol's and some anonymous person.

"Hoe? There's no card on this last gift," Sakura said, confused.

"I wonder who it could be from," Kero frowned.

Sakura carefully opened Tomoyo's present first. Her eyes lit up as she held up a CD of Tomoyo's choir. There was a note along with it that read, "For my best friend, so you can listen to it if you ever miss me". Next, she opened up Meiling's gift, which was a red Chinese dress. From Eriol, she received a pegasus stuffed animal. There was a card along with it that read,

"_Dearest Sakura,_

_Congratulations on your 14__th__ birthday. I wish you the best. Ruby and Spinel bid you Happy Birthday as well. I'm sorry I couldn't be there personally. I hope my gift makes up for it._

_Eriol Hiiragizawa_

Sakura giggled as she went on to opening her last present. Her eyes widened as she took out what looked like a snowglobe with Hogwarts inside it. She tilted her head as she turned the snowglobe every which way, wondering what it was. Seeing a knob underneath it, she turned it a bit, causing music to play.

"Hoeeee……..this is amazing….." Sakura said.

"Yeah, but who's it from?" Ron asked.

Sakura shrugged. "No idea."

"Could it be from that substitute teacher back in our elementary school days?" Syaoran wondered, coming into the conversation.

"Mizuki-sensei? I don't know…..I don't think she's ever heard of Hogwarts," Sakura frowned.

"Who's this Mizuki person?" Harry inquired.

"She was our substitute teacher back in elementary school," Sakura explained. "She was really nice, and she always gave clues on how to capture a Clow Card. I saw her a lot of times in my dreams, and during the Final Judgment, she helped me gain a second chance. She now lives with Eriol-kun in England. "

"We don't particularly know what she is, though," Kero added. "For a while, I thought she was the false form of Yue, until I finally met her in person."

"Anyway…." Sakura turned to Fred and George. "Happy Birthday, George-senpai, Fred-senpai. Hoee….our birthdays fall on the same day…"

Fred let out a laugh. "Well, we don't get much attention on our birthdays like you do, Sakura."

"I never asked for it," Sakura said. "And I didn't think news would spread that fast."

"Oh, it does, alright," Ron replied.

After breakfast, Syaoran led Sakura out near the trees where they first met Buckbeak in their first Care of Magical Creatures class for a little privacy. His amber eyes bore softly into Sakura's emerald ones. A small smile crept across his face as he took something from his pocket and covered it with his other hand. Sakura glimpsed down at it, wondering what it was.

"Happy birthday," Syaoran said quietly as he uncovered his hand.

Sakura gasped. In Syaoran's hands was a necklace with pink diamond cherry blossoms dangling from the chain. She glanced up at him with joyous tears in her eyes. Widening his eyes, Syaoran took a step forward.

"N-no, don't cry!"

"I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying because I'm happy," Sakura said as she wiped her eyes. "Arigatou, Syaoran-kun. I really like it."

Syaoran smiled as he clasped the necklace around Sakura's neck, then pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her auburn head. For a moment, they stood there in that position. Suddenly, they heard the bell ring and pulled away to run to their classes. Their first period that day was Potions. Whipping out her staff, Sakura called on the Fly Card and commanded it to form wings on her staff so she could transport Syaoran along with her. Together, the two flew down to the Dungeons, where they barely made it to class as they flew in. A large breeze picked up inside the classroom, causing the bookpages to turn. Professor Snape raised an eyebrow as Sakura called Fly back and took her seat along with Syaoran.

"It seems like you two made it in time…..barely," Professor Snape said, looking at the sorcerers with dark eyes. "And it's your birthday today, isn't it, Miss Kinomoto?"

"H-Hai," Sakura nodded.

"Then you will be our demonstrator at the end of class," Professor Snape said.

"Hoee…."

"Normally, people don't get attention on their birthdays, but today seems to be an exception," Draco smirked as Sakura took her seat. She laughed nervously as she told him that she actually almost forgot it was her birthday until her friends brought it up.

For the rest of the period, they worked on their assignment. Then at the end of class, Sakura demonstrated her completed potion in front of them. It proved successful, because the Cardmistress had followed the instructions carefully during classtime. After Potions, they had Defense Against the Dark Arts, where Professor Lupin taught them about Pogrebins. At the end of class, Professor Lupin pulled Sakura aside to ask her if she had foreseen anything in her dreams.

"Just the usual," Sakura told him.

"Ah, I see," Professor Lupin said. "Best be careful, hmm?"

Sakura nodded. "Hai! A-ano….Lupin-sensei…a couple of weeks ago….after I came back from Hogsmeade…I met this large black dog…and at the same time, I heard a voice. It sounded lonely and was trying to tell me something. "

Professor Lupin narrowed his eyes. "Where did you see this dog?"

"Near the cliffs," Sakura replied. She glanced up at the clock. "Ah, it's lunchtime! Sorry for keeping you here long. I'll head out now."

Turning around, Sakura headed out the classroom door. Professor Lupin frowned as he stared after her, a deep frown on his face.

"So what did Professor Lupin want to talk to you about?" Harry asked when Sakura sat down at their table for lunch.

"He just wanted to talk to me about my dreams," Sakura replied, leaving the part out about how she told Lupin about the black dog and Sirius Black's voice. "That's all."

Turning to Fred and George, she said, "If I knew it was your birthday today, I would've gotten you both something."

"Don't worry. We didn't know it was your birthday today either, so it's even," George grinned.

Sakura grinned back. "Yeah, I guess so."

Easter holiday rolled around a few weeks after Sakura and the Weasley twins' birthday. The third-years had a lot of homework to do, however, and Hermione began to look exhausted from the overloaded homework and researching Buckbeak's case. Ron decided to take over, checking into books like Fowl or Foul? A Study of Hipppogriff Brutality and The Handbook of Hippogriff Psychology. In the meantime, Sakura went back to Japan to visit her friends and family, and didn't come back until three days later.

The Quidditch final between Gryffindor and Slytherin grew near. Oliver Wood called the team in for another meeting, and discussed that they haven't won the cup since Charlie Weasley had last been Seeker. Once again, Sakura gave them words of encouragement, boosting up their confidence just a little.

"Looks like the final Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin are tomorrow, huh?" Kero said as he stared into the fireplace.

Sakura nodded. "Un. Gryffindor wants to win really badly."

"Well, they've been practicing hard all year. I think they'll be fine," Syaoran said as he entered Gryffindor tower.

_Riiiing! Riiing! _

"Hoe?" Sakura took her cell phone out of her bookbag, flipped it open, and held it to her ear. "Moshi-moshi?"

"Konbanwa, Sakura-san."

"Eriol-kun!"

"So I hear the final Quidditch match is coming up. How's Harry-kun on that?"

Sakura glanced over at Harry, then turned her head back to its original position. "I think he's fine."

"Ah."

"So what else did you want to talk to me about?"

"What? I can't call Sakura-san just to talk?" Eriol grinned on the other end.

"Well, you usually don't call me unless there's something important you want to address me," Sakura frowned.

Eriol chuckled. "True. How's my cute little descendant?"

Sakura laughed a little. "He's fine. Oh, it's time for us to go to sleep."

"I'll let you go, then."

"Ja," Sakura smiled as she turned off her cell phone, then headed up the staircase to her dormitory.

Neither Sakura nor Harry could sleep well that night. Harry had a dream that he'd overslept on the day of the final match, and the team had to use Neville instead, but ended up losing in the end. After that, he had a dream where the Slytherins rode on dragons and he forgot his broom. Meanwhile, Sakura revisited the same dream she had all year, but this time, she saw the transformation of a werewolf (though she couldn't tell who it was that transformed), followed by a black dog trying to keep the werewolf at bay. Then she saw thousands of dementors surrounding a particular area, which were then chased away by two bright light that came from opposite direction. Waking up, Sakura blinked as she stared around the room, then out the window. She saw Crookshanks and the large Black Dog hanging around each other. Tilting her head, she frowned. What could they be possibly doing together?

The day of the final match arrived. Sakura, Syaoran, Hermione, and Ron watched from the stands while Harry and his team got ready to enter the field. Sakura could see Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff waving signs and banners of encouragement to Gryffindor. It was obvious that they didn't want Slytherin to win.

"Ganbatte, Gryffindor!" Sakura cried cheerfully.

The game finally started as Gryffindor and Slytherin faced each other, Madam Hooch tossing the balls up into the air. During the game, Lee Jordan, a friend of Fred and George, made commentaries. He couldn't help himself as he got carried away into talking about the Firebolt, to which Professor McGonagall had to tell him to get back to commenting on the game. A lot of action went on in the field from the Gryffindor Chasers and the Slytherin Chasers, though Alicia scored a penalty for Flint's behavior in crashing into Angelina Johnson. Then Oliver Wood stopped the penalty that Slytherin got for Fred's foul. Meanwhile, Harry caught sight of the Snitch and chased after it, but Draco had also seen it, and trailed behind Harry. Noticing this, Harry began to distract Draco so he could get the Snitch. Suddenly, Harry received hits from the Bludgers that the Slytherin Beaters Derrick and Bole aimed at him. The audience held their breaths. At this point in the game, it was starting to become very dirty, but Gryffindor managed to get themselves ahead by 60 points. Sakura could hear Lee's profane screaming as she saw Draco holding onto Harry's broom, causing Harry to miss the Snitch by a short distance. Next to her, Syaoran folded his arms as he watched.

"I knew that was going to happen."

"Syaoran, how experienced are you in fortune-reading?" Hermione asked.

"Like I've said before, my clan are descendants of Clow Reed, and Clow Reed had the talent of accurately predicting one's fortunes," Syaoran frowned. "But we don't use crystal balls or tarot cards or anything of the sort."

Hearing excited cheers, Syaoran glanced up to see Harry with the Snitch in his hands. He semi-smiled as he watched Harry descend down to the ground. Beside him, Sakura cheered with enthusiasm as she jumped up and down.

"Congratulations, you won!" Sakura cried as they came down from the stadium.

"Yeah, we did," Oliver grinned.

"Let's get back to Gryffindor Tower and celebrate with a triple-fudge sundae and whatever wizard sweets and candy you have!" Kero grinned.

"I agree with the plush toy creature!" Alicia said.

"HEY, DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Kero growled.

"Sorry!"


	14. Exams

Ch. 14: Exams

* * *

Exams were approaching. Fred and George prepared for their O.W.L.s, while Percy studied hard for his N.E.W.T. Since Percy had high hopes for working at the Ministry of Magic, he knew he had to get top grades in order to land a job there. At the same time, the other students studied for their end-of-the-year exams. Hermione studied long hours, her nose always in her books and her eyes baggy from exhaustion. Syaoran also devoted his free time studying, and aided Sakura in her studies from time to time. Even the Mirror and Twin Card had some studying to do since they took the sorcerers' places in classes they couldn't be there for.

Sakura's dreams became clearer each night. She could now vividly see each of their faces, except for one. The latest dream she had was of a hundred dementors being chased away by a bright light, followed by a man flying into the night on a hippogriff.

"Sakura, did you sleep okay? You don't seem like your usual self," Kero asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Sakura said. She let out a yawn. "I'm just a bit tired from all that studying. Anyway, I had this dream last night…."

"Is it the same one you've been having?"

"I'm not sure…." Sakura began to describe her dream to Kero. When she finished, Kero was rubbing his small chin with his paws.

"I wonder if it's connected to your previous dreams?" Kero wondered out loud.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know…" Slinging her bookbag over her shoulders, she began to head down the staircase into the Common Room, then out of Gryffindor Tower. "I have to get to class now. I'll see you at break!"

Kero watched as Sakura disappeared out of the Tower, then sighed as he floated over to the Sakura Book lying on her bed. The book unlatched itself as the cards flew out and encircled the Sun Guardian. Kero frowned as the Dream stopped in front of him.

"Something bothering you, Kerberos?"

Turning his head slightly, Kero saw Yue standing at the doorway. "How'd you get in?"

"Perhaps you've forgotten I have no gender," Yue spoke coldly. "The stairs cannot tell if I am male or female. And even if I did have a gender, I have my wings to fly me up here."

"Right." It took a couple of seconds before Kero began to speak again. "It's been a while since Sakura has had these premonitive dreams. The last time was before that battle with the Clow Reed reincarnation, Hiiragizawa Eriol."

"She must be having them for a reason," Yue frowned.

Kero nodded. "She's been discussing them with the teachers, especially the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin. Harry Potter has also been experiencing strange dreams, or so I've heard."

"There will come a time when these occuring dreams become real, and seeing as they're growing stronger every night, the event is bound to happen sooner or later," Yue said. "I trust you'll be there to aid her when it happens?"

Kero nodded, his small, beady eyes full of determination.

* * *

"Hermione, how do you lan on getting to all of your exams at the same time?" Ron asked in bewilderment as he stared at the exams timetable on Hermione's desk.

Ignoring that, Hermione instead asked Ron and Harry if they've seen her copy of _Numerology and Grammatica_.

"How's studying coming along?" Sakura asked as she and Syaoran entered the Common Room.

"Exhausting," Hermione groaned.

"How about you?' Harry asked.

"We just finished," Syaoran replied. "Besides, how hard could it be?"

"Very hard," Ron answered.

"Well, it can't be as hard as what oniichan had to go through during his exams. I remember days when he studied until 3 in the morning with Yukito-san, not wanting to be bothered unless it was time for dinner. Exams in Japan are really tough, from what I've heard. Some people don't make it into college, and in our country, not making it into a good university means shame on the family," Sakura frowned. "According to oniichan, there are quite some people who resort to suicide because they feel like they've shamed their family by failing to bypass high school."

"Wow, that's harsh. I can't imagine what an Asian school of magic would be like if that's what Japanese Muggles go through," Ron said with wide eyes.

Exams finally started on Monday, June 3. At nine in the morning on Monday, they had Transfiguration exams, where they had to transform a teacup into a tortoise and other variants. At the same time, Syaoran and Hermione took exams in Arithmancy. Since Muggle Studies exams wasn't until Thursday, Mirror took Syaoran's place this time. Then in Charms at 1 pm, they had to perform a Cheering Charm. Also at the same time, Hermione took her Ancient Runes exams.

"That Arithmancy exam was actually pretty easy," Syaoran said.

"Well, you're pretty good with math, unlike me," Sakura replied. "Numbers are so hard for me!"

The next day, their exams started out with Care of Magical Creatures, where they had to keep flobberworms alive for an hour. Then in the afternoon, they had Potions exams. It proved difficult when Harry and Sakura had trouble with their Confusing Concoction. Sakura didn't even touch the ingredients for the past 15 minutes. Afterwards, there wasn't any more exams until midnight, when they would take their Astronomy exams. During their break, they went back up to the common room to study some more. Sakura gave Kero a bowl of pudding she saved from lunch. Excited that his mistress got him something to eat, he ate the pudding, savoring every lick.

On the third day of exams, their first class was History of Magic, where they were to be tested on medieval witch hunts and other stuff that they had learned throughout the year. Following that was Herbology. Finally, on the last and final day of exams, they had Defense Against the Dark Arts first. Professor Lupin had set up an obstacle course for them in which they had to face creatures that they studied throughout the year, like Grindylows, Hinkypunks, Kappas, and Boggarts. The last stage of the course was confronting a boggart. Many did well, but when it came to Sakura and Hermione's turn, they ran out screaming.

"Hermione, Sakura, what's wrong?" Lupin asked, startled.

"P-P-Professor McGonagall! She just told me that I was failing all my classes!" Hermione wailed.

"G-G-G-G-G-Gho--hooeeeeee!" Sakura cried as she hid herself behind Syaoran.\

"But you did so well tackling that ghost-boggart your first day here. What happened?" Lupin frowned.

"I got scared!"

For their last exam of the day, they approached Professor Trelawney separately for their crystal ball readings. Ron went first, followed by Harry. Meanwhile, Sakura had Mirror go in her place to Muggle Studies with Hermione. After Harry came out of the classroom, Sakura went next. She seemed a bit nervous as she approached the small table with a lone crystal ball in the center, Professor Trelawney sitting on the seat opposite hers. Her hands played with her skirt as she stared at Professor Trelawney with uncertainty.

"Now then, dearie, tell me what you see," Professor Trelawney instructed.

Sakura stared into the crystal ball. "Ano….I see a large black dog…"

Professor Trelawney gasped. "A Grim?"

Sakura tilted her head. "Trelawney-sensei, how do you tell the difference between…well…..a regular black dog and the Grim?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because everytime the words 'black dog' is mentioned, you assume it's the Grim," Sakura replied. "And I've met quite a lot of black dogs before."

"Well, a Grim is a death omen, and I suppose a normal black dog is just….a dog with no magic whatsoever," Professor Trelawney said, curious that one of her students asked such an odd question. "Now, what else do you see?"

"I see that it's going to be a full moon tonight...the Whomping Willow……a hippogriff flying freely….hoe? Are those wedding bells?"

"Do you see who you might be marrying?" Professor Trelawney asked.

"I-I-I don't know…" Sakura answered. She glanced into the crystal ball again, and quickly changed the subject. "A-A-ano, I see that my turn is up and someone is next!"

"Well, if you certainly saw that, then you may go and tell the next student to come in," Professor Trelawney smiled.

Sakura bowed, then walked out of the classroom. Harry and Ron approached her.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked.

"It was alright. Felt a bit awkward in there, though," Sakura replied.

"I know, doesn't it?" Ron agreed.

Everyone was relieved when exams were over. During their breaktime the day after exams, Sakura spent time in training with her cards while Syaoran endorsed himself in Tai Chi. Kero stayed by Sakura's side as much as possible. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had come to Hogwarts the day before along with two men to witness Buckbeak's trial.

"I'm going out for a bit. Be back soon," Sakura said as she left Gryffindor Tower and walked out the entrance hall. Seeing that Kero was fast asleep on the couch, she decided to leave him alone.

Stretching her arms, Sakura stared out into the horizon. There wasn't much to see except the rolling pastures of grass and the Whomping Willow off into the corner. Slowly taking a couple of steps forward, Sakura began to immerse herself in a quiet stroll. The air was very calm and still. As she neared the Whomping Willow, she noticed the same Black Dog that she encountered well over a month ago staring at her.

"Hoe? That dog…." Sakura muttered as she began to approach it. But this time, as she came closer, the dog began to walk away from her towards the Whomping Willow, glancing back at her every five steps.

"Matte! You'll get hurt by the tree!" she cried as she ran after the Black Dog.

* * *

A/N: Yeeeeaaaah….Sakura's crystal ball was lame, wasn't it? xD;; I'm not good with making up fortunes, especially one that Sakura would have.


	15. Sirius Black!

Ch. 15: Sirius Black?!

* * *

"Matte!" Sakura cried as she chased after the black dog. The dog stopped in its tracks and looked back at her, its tail swishing. It took off a second later, and kept stopping to make sure that the Cardmistress was following it. Sakura frowned as she came nearer and nearer to the Whomping Willow. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had said that it was a very violent tree, and stepping within its shadows would be a dangerous thing to do.

"Hoe?'

Glancing down at the dog, she saw it place a paw upon the knot of the tree, making the Willow calm and still. It then disappeared down a hole underneath its roots. Slowly and cautiously, Sakura approached the tree's small tunnel. She looked around, wondering if it was safe to follow the dog in. Just then, she felt something tugging at her skirt and glanced down to see that the Black Dog was trying to get her inside.

"Okay, okay!" Sakura cried as she climbed down into the tunnel. She came out into a shack. Gazing around, she noticed that the place looked old and dusty. "Where is this place? Where am I?"

She wished Yue, Syaoran, and Kero was there with her. Suddenly glimpsing movement at the corner of her eyes, Sakura slowly turned around. Seeing the dog transform into a man with long, black, matted hair and grey eyes, she widened her eyes. The man wore a ragged robe, and he was thin, like he hadn't eaten in a long time.

Gasping upon recognizing him, Sakura stepped back as her hand flew to her mouth. "B-B-Black-san?"

The man nodded as he stepped closer to her. "You are Sakura Kinomoto, am I correct?"

"H-Hai," Sakura said. "Ano….Black-san, why did you bring me here?"

Sirius Black frowned at her. "I wanted to have a little talk with you. When I saw you on your walk, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to get you to follow me. You're rather a curious girl, Sakura. You didn't know that the black dog was me, did you?"

Sakura shook her head as she smiled sheepishly. "No, I didn't."

"Well, you gotta be careful here in the Wizarding World. Not all animals are actual animals. Some are wizards in their Animagus form," Sirius sighed. "Anyway, I've heard you're a sorceress? And that you get premonitive dreams? "

"Hai," Sakura nodded. "Wait, how did you know?"

"I've been watching. I lived in the Forbidden Forest after I escaped from Azkaban," Sirius told her. "I was rather curious when I heard your conversation with your friend the other day about your dreams. Now tell me, do you think what you saw in your dreams were real?"

Sakura widened her eyes. "_You _were the one to send me those messages in my head!"

"Actually, those were my own thoughts. I didn't think you would hear them," Sirius frowned.

"Oops. Um….I don't know...part of me wants to believe you're innocent, and the other….well, you invaded Hogwarts, slashed the Fat Lady's portrait, and scared Ron-kun out of his mind by standing over him with a knife," Sakura replied. "I don't sense anything bad about you, either."

Sirius sighed. "Well, I was trying to get to Ron's rat…"

"Black-san?"

"What?"

"I'm not completely knowledgeable of the situation, but how did you land yourself in Azkaban? What happened twelve years ago?" Sakura asked nervously.

Sirius sighed once again. "I'll explain everything later." Turning away from her, he began to head up the staircase leading up to a lone room. When he reached the top of the stairs, he leaned over the balcony. His eyes glanced down at Sakura as he called her up. As if invisible strings pulled her forward, Sakura stepped up the staircase, meeting Sirius at the top. He led her into a room with a four-poster bed in the far corner.

"Where is this?"

"This is one of the rooms in the Shrieking Shack," Sirius said. "It's gotten pretty old after a while, since nobody has used it in quite a long time."

"A-ano….Black-san…"

"What is it?"

"I really don't think I should be here. I mean….I really should be heading back to the castle by now. I told my friends I would be back before dinner…." Sakura said slowly.

"They're getting ready to execute that hippogriff," Sirius frowned as he stared out the window.

"Hoe? Buckbeak-san?" Sakura blinked.

"And there's your friends going out of Hagrid's hut," Sirius muttered, still gazing out the window.

"Black-san….I really should get going," Sakura stammered as she turned to leave, but suddenly felt a strong grip on her wrist. She gazed up at Sirius, who looked at her pleadingly.

"Stay, please. Don't leave just yet," he whispered.

"But everyone…."

"What you saw in your dreams won't happen if you leave, so please, stay," Sirius begged. "I need a bit of your help. If my godson won't listen to me, then at least he will be able to listen to you."

Sakura frowned. Suddenly, her phone rang. Picking it up, she held it to her ears. "Moshi-moshi?"

"Sakura, where are you?" It was Syaoran's voice.

"In the Shrieking Shack. With Sirius Black."

"WHAT?! SIRIUS BLACK IS IN THERE WITH YOU?!" Syaoran screamed, causing Sakura to hold the phone away from her. "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Sirius is in there with Sakura?!" Ron widened his eyes in horror.

"Probably trying to murder her first," Harry growled. "Come on, we have to go save her!"

"Hoeeee…..they think you want to kill me," Sakura laughed nervously as she turned to face Sirius.

Sirius placed a hand on his forehead, sighing. "Really."

"Oh, yeah, Buckbeak just got executed…." Syaoran said.

Sakura gasped. "Oh, no! Buckbeak-san…."

"Anyway, don't worry. We're coming, alright?"

"Okay…."

Syaoran cut off their conversation with a click. Turning hers off as well, Sakura sighed as she stared at her pink cell phone. "Well, I guess they're coming to get me. Black-san…."

She blinked as she stared at the empty spot in front of her, then spun around. Sirius Black was gone! But where could he have disappeared to? Hearing a loud painful scream from outside, Sakura peered out the small window to see Sirius back in his Black Dog form, dragging Ron into the Whomping Willow by the leg. Following that, she saw Harry and Hermione getting attacked by the Willow's violent branches as they tried to follow Ron and Sirius inside.

* * *

A/N: Eh, this is the shortest chapter I've written. xD; Anyway, I hope you liked it.


	16. The Truth Hurts

Ch. 19: The Truth Hurts

* * *

"Ron-kun, daijoubu?" Sakura asked as she ran up to Ron, who had been placed onto the bed.

"Not really. How about you?" Ron said.

"Fine, thanks."

"But I thought Sirius kidnapped you here," Ron frowned.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Actually, I was stupid and followed his doggy form in here. He was actually very kind to me."

"Ron—are you okay?" Hermione asked as she, Syaoran, and Harry dashed into the room.

"Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. "Harry, it's a trap—"

"What—?"

"_He's the dog. He's an Animagus!" _Ron stared over Harry's shoulder.

Harry spun around. With a snap, Sirius Black closed the door behind them. He looked at Sakura with a look that said 'be quiet'. Catching that, Sakura nodded silently. He then disarmed Harry and Hermione's wands and caught them before taking a step closer to Harry. Syaoran took the chance to run over to Sakura.

"Are you hurt?"

"Iie," Sakura shook her head.

But Syaoran didn't want to believe that, so he checked her for any wound marks. Finding none, he sighed with relief. "Thank goodness…"

"I thought you'd come help your friend," Sirius said in a hoarse voice. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful…..it will make everything much easier."

Harry stared forward, but Hermione held him back.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" Ron shouted.

"Lie down," Sirius said quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me? You'll have to kill all five of us!" Ron said weakly.

"Ron-kun, here. Let me help," Sakura said as she released her Star Wand. "I created a card a little over two months ago." She tossed a card up into the air, then tapped it with her wand. "Heal!"

A yellowish glow surrounded Ron's injured leg. Ron stared with awe as he felt the pain incinerate a little. However, some of the wound still remained. Sakura apologized and said that she hadn't perfected the new card yet.

"There will be only one murder here tonight," Sirius smirked, his grin widening.

Sakura watched from the bed as Harry spat words out at Sirius and then lunged at him. Everything she had seen in her dreams were coming true. She watched with horror as Sirius's hand tightened around Harry's throat. Hermione's foot swung into Sirius, and Ron threw himself onto Sirius's wand hand. Harry saw his wand rolling away and tried to get it, but Crookshanks was darting towards it as well. With a kick that made the cat jump aside, Harry snatched up his wand and pointed it at Sirius's heart.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" he whispered.

"You killed my parents," Harry said.

"I don't deny it. But if you knew the whole story..." Sirius spoke quietly.

"The whole story? You sold them to Voldemort! That's all I need to know!"

"You've got to listen to me," Sirius pleaded. "You'll regret it if you don't. You don't understand."

"I understand it a lot better than you think. You never heard her, didn't you? My mom, trying to stop Voldemort killing me….and you did that…you did it…"

"Harry-kun, let's hear what he has to say. Then you can do whatever you like," Sakura said as she jumped up and walked over to Harry. She saw Sirius give her a look of gratitude.

"Sakura, he killed my mom and dad. That's enough for me to kill him," Harry growled.

"But…."

They suddenly heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Hermione yelled out that they were upstairs with Sirius Black. The door of the room burst open suddenly as Professor Lupin came into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised. He glanced at Ron, to Hermione, to Harry, to Syaoran, to Sakura, then to Sirius.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted as he disarmed Harry's wand and the two wands in Hermione's hands, catching them. He then addressed Sirius. "Where is he, Sirius?"

Sirius pointed at Ron after a few seconds. Sakura watched as Lupin muttered something she couldn't hear to Sirius. Her eyes widened when he embraced Sirius like a brother. Harry felt sick to his stomach as Hermione screamed with disbelief. Professor Lupin whirled around on her.

"You…you…" Hermione stammered.

"Hermione…."

"You and him…."

"Hermione, calm down!"

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shouted. "I've been covering for you!"

"Hermione, listen to me, please! I can explain!" Lupin shouted.

"Well, this is getting a bit interesting," Syaoran said.

"Un," Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Got any sweets?" Kero asked.

"He's a _werewolf_!" Hermione screamed.

Lupin tried to help Ron with his injured leg, but paled when Ron screamed, "GET AWAY FROM ME, WEREWOLF." Turning to face Hermione, he asked her how she knew.

Hermione answered that she knew ever since Professor Snape set the essay. Lupin commented on her cleverness, but Hermione insisted that if she was cleverer, she'd tell everyone about his secret. Lupin pointed out that the staff knew. Ron asked if Dumbledore was mad when he hired a werewolf. Lupin admitted that some of the staff thought so as well, and that Dumbledore had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that Lupin was trustworthy.

"AND HE WAS WRONG! YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THIS TIME!!" Harry roared as he pointed at Sirius. Sirius had crossed over to the four-poster bed and sat down on it next to Sakura (who had retreated back there after Lupin entered), his face hidden in one shaking hand as Lupin explained some things. Ron moved over, dragging his injured leg.

_Wouldn't it be easier if you got to the point?_ Sakura thought.

_I'm trying to! They just won't listen to me!_

_I'm getting a bit hungry. I hope I can get out of here soon enough. And I'm pretty tired too._

_Sorry about that. _

_Daijoubu! _

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" Lupin asked Ron.

"What? What's Scabbers got to do with this?" Ron demanded.

"Everything," Lupin replied. "Could I see him, please?"

Sakura watched as Ron dug into his robes and pulled Scabbers out of his pocket. Crookshanks made a hissing noise as it stood on Sirius's leg. Lupin moved closer to get a further inspection of the rat, his gaze locked on it. Ron got defensive as he held Scabbers close to him, asking Lupin what the rat had to do with anything. Suddenly, Sirius croaked out, "That's not a rat."

"What do you mean? Of course he's a rat…."

"No, he's not," Lupin spoke softly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus, by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Kero, and Syaoran stared at Sirius Black for a few seconds in disbelief. How could it be that Scabbers was actually a wizard in disguise? Sakura tensed as she held her breath. Then, Ron shouted the same thing that was on Harry's mind, calling both Lupin and Sirius "mental". Hermione agreed that it was ridiculous, and Harry added that Pettigrew had been dead for twelve years because Sirius killed him.

"Iie! That's not true!" Sakura cried as she moved in front of Sirius and spread her arms out.

"Sakura…." Syaoran growled warningly. "Don't tell me you're defending this criminal."

Sakura shook her head. "He's not! It's true, Peter Pettigrew is alive. If he wasn't, I wouldn't have had recurring dreams about this moment."

"But couldn't he have hacked into your mind and forced you to have those dreams to make you believe he's innocent?" Hermione asked.

Once again, Sakura shook her head. "A sorcerer's mind is difficult to get into. Our minds are more complex than a witch or wizard."

"And I meant to kill Peter, but he got the better of me….not this time, though!" Sirius growled as he lunged at Scabbers. Unfortunately, he fell on Ron's broken leg, causing Ron to scream with pain.

"Sirius, no!" Lupin cried as he pulled Sirius away from Ron. "Wait! You can't just do it like that. They need to understand! We've got to explain…."

"We can explain afterwards!" Sirius snarled as he tried to push Lupin away from him.

"They've got a right to know everything!" Lupin shouted, panting in between each words. "Ron's kept him as a pet! And Harry….you owe him the truth, Sirius!"

Sirius stopped, his eyes still on Scabbers. He allowed Lupin to explain whatever he would like to explain, but to make it quick. Having enough of the crazy situation, Ron shakily tried to leave, but Lupin pointed his wand at Scabber's in his front pocket and told him to hear them out. Ron protested that Scabbers wasn't Peter. Lupin began explaining everything, how there were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die, how he saw Pettigrew as alive when he saw him on the Marauder's Map.

"But Professor Lupin, Scabbers can't be Pettigrew. It just can't be true, you know it can't," Hermione spoke up, her voice trembling.

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin asked calmly.

Hermione explained that people would know if Pettigrew was an Animagus, because Professor McGonagall had explained that when they did Animagi in Transfiguration class. She also mentioned that she looked up the list of Animagi when she did her homework, and didn't find Pettigrew's name anywhere on the list. Lupin gave a laugh as he told her that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts.

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," Sirius said, still watching Scabber's every attempt to escape. "I've waited twelve years. I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right. But you'll need to help me, Sirius. I only know how it began," Lupin responded. He then began to explain how it all started after he became a werewolf, beginning with how he received the werewolf's bite when he was a small boy. He said that the potion that Professor Snape made for him was a recent discovery, and as long as he took it, he would be sane when he transformed. He went on to further explain how in the past, he was dangerous, and other parents wouldn't let their kids near him, but Dumbledore was sympathetic, and allowed him to attend the school. The Whomping Willow, Lupin said, was built because of him.

"Hoeee…." Sakura said.

"My transformation in those days were terrible," Lupin said as he told them how it was painful to turn into a werewolf and how because he was separated from humans, he was forced to bite and scratch himself. He explained how the screaming came from him, how villagers thought a malevolent spirit lived inside the Shrieking Shack, and how Dumbledore encouraged the rumors.

"Hoeeee," Sakura said again. "So this place isn't really haunted?"

Lupin shook his head. "No."

"Yokata," Sakura sighed with relief.

"Can you guys hurry this up already?" Syaoran growled. "You're taking too long!"

"Just be patient, Syaoran," Lupin said. "We're getting there, don't worry." He took a deep breath as he further went on to tell his story about his life at Hogwarts, how he found friendship with James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. They had failed to notice that he disappeared once a month, and made up excuses, such as going home to see his ill mother. But of course, James, Sirius, and Peter found out the truth just like how Hermione found out, and became Animagi to help make Lupin's transformation more bearable.

"My dad too?" Harry asked, amazed.

Lupin nodded as he told them about how his friends worked hard to become Animagi, and how it wasn't until their fifth year that they finally became one. He said that he was less dangerous under his friends' influences, and his mind was less when he was with them. Sirius suddenly urged Lupin to hurry up, still watching Scabbers. Lupin said to Sirius that he was getting there.

"…...And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot, Peter is Wormtail, James was Prongs."

Harry wondered what animal his father was, but Hermione cut him off, telling Lupin that it was really dangerous for his friends to run around in the dark with a werewolf. Lupin bitterly said that the thought of it still haunted him, and how there were many near misses, and how they would laugh about them afterwards. He sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust as a boy, because the headmaster had no idea Lupin was breaking the rules Dumbledore had set for him. Lupin said that he always managed to forget every guilty feeling every time the Marauders sat down to plan next month's adventures.

"What else happened?" Kero asked.

"Well, all this year, I've been battling with myself, wondering if I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus," Lupin said. He told them how Dumbledore's trust meant everything to him, and how it was because of him that he was able to find a job when he had been shunned his entire adult life because of what he was. "…..so in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" Sirius asked. "What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's here, Sirius," Lupin said. "He's teaching here as well. Curiously, he has found favoritism in Sakura here."

Sakura laughed nervously. "Ehehe….hoe..."

"Professor Snape was at school with us," Lupin said. "He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I was not to be trusted. He has his reason…you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me.

"It served him right," Sirius sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to, hoping he could get us expelled…"

Lupin nodded as he told them all how Snape was interested in where he went every month, and how they didn't like each other very much, but Snape disliked James more and was jealous of his talent on the Quidditch field. He then explained the trick Sirius tried to pull on Sirius and how James pulled Snape back at the great risk to his life.

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Harry said slowly. "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," a cold voice sneered behind Lupin. Severus Snape pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointed at Lupin.

Hermione let out a scream as Sirius leapt to his feet. Harry felt like he had been electrocuted. Sakura, Syaoran, and Kero watched, confused, as tension rose up between Lupin, Sirius, and Snape. Sakura's eyes widened when Lupin fell to the floor, bound from the cords that had burst from Snape's wand

"Professor Snape, it….it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?" Hermione said uncertainly and breathlessly.

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, _hold your tongue._" He then turned his attention on the sorcerers. "Lured them here, Black?"

Sakura shook her head. "Iie! Iie! I erm…..followed Black-san's dog form here…I didn't know the dog was Black-san until he transformed in front of me…..hoeeee…."

"And I came here because I contacted her telepathically, and she told me Black was there with her, so I was worried," Syaoran said.

"But if…if there was a mistake…" Hermione said slowly.

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted suddenly, looking deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" He narrowed his eyes at Sirius. "Vengeance is very sweet. How I hoped I would be the one to catch you…"

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Sirius snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle, I'll come quietly."

"Up to the castle?" Snape sneered. "I don't think we need to get that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black….pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay…"

Black paled as he tried to plead with Snape to look at Ron's rat, but Snape was beyond listening. Before Snape could force them out, Harry crossed the room and blocked the door. Snape furiously demanded that Harry get out of the way, and that he was in enough trouble already. Harry explained that Profesor Lupin could've killed him about a hundred times this year when he was alone with him having defense lessons against the dementors. "If he was helping Black, why didn't he finish me off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," Snape hissed. "Get out of the way, Potter!"

"YOU'RE PATHETIC! JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN—" Harry yelled.

"SILENCE!" Snape screamed. "I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT! Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black…now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!!"

_Snape-sensei's scary……_Sakura thought to Sirius.

_Isn't he?_ Sirius thought back.

_I've never seen him this crazy before._

_There's a lot you don't know about Snivellus._

_Hoe? Snivellus?_

_That's our nickname for him. _

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted as he raised his wand and disarmed Snape. But he wasn't the only one. Ron and Hermione had tried to do the same thing at exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that," Sirius said. "You should've left him to me."

Hermione began to whimper about how they were going to get in trouble for attacking a teacher. Lupin struggled against the cords binding him; Sirius bent down to untie his friend. Lupin thanked Harry for what he had done.

"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry frowned.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," Lupin replied. "You, boy—give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron held Scabbers protectively closer to his chest, his eyes locked on both Lupin and Sirius. He asked how Sirius knew which rat he's after when he was locked up in Azkaban. The question intrigued Lupin.

"How did you find out where he was?" Lupin asked Sirius.

Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumbled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others. Sakura, Syaoran, and Kero moved in for a closer look. The photograph consisted of Ron and his family that had appeared on the _Daily Prophet_ last summer. On Ron's shoulder was Scabbers. Lupin wondered how Sirius obtained the photograph. Sirius told him that it was from Fudge, who gave it to him when he came to inspect Azkaban.

"……I knew him at once…how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts….to where Harry was…." Sirius said slowly.

Lupin gazed from Scabbers to the picture in the paper, then back to Scabbers. "My god….his front paw…."

"What about it?" Ron asked.

"He's got a toe missing," Sirius replied.

"Of course….so simple, so brilliant….he cut it off himself?" Lupin breathed.

Sirius explained how Pettigrew had cut off his finger before he transformed, how when he cornered Pettigrew, Pettigrew yelled for the entire street to hear that Sirius had betrayed Lily and James, and before Sirius could curse Pettigrew, Pettigrew blew up the street with the wand behind his back and escaped down the sewers with the other rats.

"Wait, if he cut off his finger, wouldn't he have died from blood loss? I mean, there must've been a lot of blood oozing out of his chopped-off finger," Syaoran frowned.

"That's a good question. We don't know exactly," Sirius replied as he gazed at Syaoran.

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron? The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger," Lupin said to Ron.

Ron protested that Scabbers could have had a fight with another rat, because Scabbers had been in his family for ages. Lupin addressed that 12 years was an unusual lifespan for a pet rat. However, Ron again protested that his family had taken good care of Scabbers.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he? I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again," Lupin said.

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" Ron shouted as he nodded towards Crookshanks.

"The cat isn't mad," Sirius spoke in a hoarse tone. He stroked the ginger cat's head with his bony hand. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me…finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…." He then looked at Sakura. "When I heard this girl's conversation about her dreams about this situation with the boy—" he glimpsed a look at Syaoran, "--I knew she would be able to trust me easily."

"She trusts people a little too easily," Syaoran frowned. "She made 'friends' with half the Slytherin table by the end of her first week here at Hogwarts. Sakura's not the one to make enemies, and hates having enemies."

"Wait a minute….." Sakura blinked. "Black-san, was that your voice I heard when I met you in your….Animagus form a couple of months ago?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes. That was actually my own thoughts. I was surprised that you were able to listen to them."

"Ehehe…" Sakura laughed nervously.

"Anyway, Crookshanks tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't….so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me. As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table, but Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it. This cat, Crookshanks, did you call him?--told me Peter had left blood on the sheets. I supposed he bit himself….well, faking his own death had worked once."

"And why did he fake his death?" Harry shouted angrily. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you did my parents!"

"No, Harry--" Lupin began.

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes, I have," Sirius said as he glared evilly at Scabbers.

"Then I should've let Snape take you!"

"Harry, don't you see?" Lupin cried. "All this time we thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down, but it was the other way around. Don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father….Sirius tracked Peter down…"

But Harry wouldn't believe it. "That's not true! He was their secret keeper! He said so before you turned up! He said he killed them!"

"Harry, I as good killed them," Sirius croaked as he explained how he persuaded the Potters to change their Secret-Keeper at the last minute and how it had been a mistake for him to do so.

"Enough of this," Lupin said. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."

"What are you going to do to him if I give him to you?" Ron demanded.

"Force him to show himself," Lupin answered. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

After a moment of hesitation, Ron gave the rat to Lupin, who took him. Scabbers began to struggle violently against Lupin's grip, his eyes wide and bulgy. Sakura felt a bit sorry for the struggling rat.

"Ready, Sirius?"

"Together?" Sirius had picked up Snape's wand from the bed and approached Lupin and Scabbers.

"I think so," Lupin nodded. "On the count of three. One….two…..three!"


	17. Trust and Betrayal

Ch. 17: Trust and Betrayal

* * *

Sakura stepped back in horror as Scabbers grew into a plump man with a balding spot on his head. Syaoran held out his arm protectively in front of her, his amber eyes narrowed with caution. Peter Pettigrew glanced up from the transformation at them all.

"Why, hello, Peter," Lupin said. "Long time, no see."

"S-Sirius…R-Remus….my old friends!" Peter squeaked.

Sirius raised his wand arm, but Lupin restrained him and gave him a look of warning before turning back to Pettigrew. "We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed."

Taking in a deep breath, Sakura watched as Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew discussed some matters with one another. Pettigrew kept pleading innocence, that Sirius had been a spy for Voldemort. He also kept muttering how Sirius was far-fetched and lunatic with his "lies. Sitting there confused, Sakura stared at him, then to Sirius, then to Lupin, then back to Pettigrew. She heard Hermione ask Lupin why Peter hadn't hurt Harry when he lived his life as Scabbers.

"There! Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair on Harry's head. Why should I?" Pettigrew cried, his voice frantic.

"I'll tell you why," Sirius said. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless there was something in it for you. You didn't want to commit murder under Albus Dumbledore's nose for a wreck of a wizard who lost all his powers, were you? You'd wait until he was the biggest bully on the playground before you could show yourself again. Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you? Just in case your old protector gained strength and you could go back to him safely."

"Err…Mr. Black…Sirius?" Hermione asked.

Sirius jumped at being addressed like this, and stared at Hermione like he'd never seen anything like her. Hermione asked him how he escaped Azkaban if he didn't use Dark Magic. Peter agreed frantically with her, but received a silencing look from Lupin.

"I don't know how I did it," Sirius said slowly. He explained to them that he never lost his mind in Azkaban because he knew he was innocent, and that it kept him sane and knowing who he was. "When it became too much, I was able to transform into a dog. Dementors can't see, you know. They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions, and as a dog, they could tell my feelings were less human and less complex. But of course, they thought I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away without a wand. But then I saw Peter in that picture, and knew I had to do something about it. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive."

He further went on to tell them how the thought of vengeance lit a fire in his head, how the dementors couldn't destroy it, and how he escaped from Azkaban as a dog. "I was thin, very thin. Thin enough to slip through the bars. I swam as a dog back to the mainland. I journeyed north and slipped into Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I was grateful when Sakura here offered me a bit of food when we first met. Anyway, I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry."

Sirius looked at Harry, who did not look away.

"Believe me. Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them," he pleaded.

Sakura saw Harry nod his head, finally believing Sirius's words. She smiled with relief as she glanced at Sirius.

_Looks like he finally believes you. Took a bit long, though…_

_Yes, but I'm glad. Thank you for your help, Sakura._

_But I barely spoke much…_

_You still helped a bit. I thank you for that._

_Iie! Iie sonna koto iwanaide! _

"No!" Pettigrew shrilled as he fell to his knees and groveled, his hands clasped in front of him. "Sirius, it's me….it's Peter….your friend…you wouldn't…"

Sirius kicked his leg out, causing Peter to recoil.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them." Sirius said coldly.

"Remus!" Pettigrew turned to Lupin. "You don't believe this. Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd change the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," Lupin said. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?"

"Forgive me, Remus," Sirius said.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin replied as he rolled up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," Sirius nodded. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," Lupin said grimly.

"You wouldn't…would you?" Pettigrew gasped as he scrambled to Ron. "Ron…haven't I been a good friend…a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you? You're on my side, aren't you?"

"I let you sleep in my_ bed_!" Ron yelled in disgust.

"Kind boy…kind master…you won't let them do it. I was your rat….I was a good pet…" Pettigrew pleaded.

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," Sirius snarled harshly. Ron, feeling pain, moved his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. The traitor turned on his knees as he staggered forward and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl…clever girl…you…you won't let them….help me…"

But Hermione had pulled her robes away and backed up against the wall with a horrified look on her face. Pettigrew whirled around to face Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran stepped closer to Sakura.

"S-Sakura….you're a nice girl. A forgiving girl. So kind and generous…you won't let them kill me, wouldn't you?" Pettigrew begged.

"_I….I…_." Sakura stammered. She turned away from Pettigrew as small tears formed in her emerald eyes. "……_Please, don't speak to me…_"

"Don't come near her, rat!" Syaoran growled as he shot a death glare at Pettigrew. Pettigrew shrunk back with fear. Kero had transformed into Kerberos and was also protecting his mistress from Pettigrew. He let out a warning growl as he placed a paw forward. Sirius, Lupin, Harry, Ron, and Hermione boggled at Kerberos like they've never seen a creature like him before. They were especially curious about his large wings that sprouted from his back.

"S-So that's Kerberos…." Hermione breathed.

"Who would've thought a small plush-like resembling creature would have a true form like this," Ron said.

Overhearing that, Kerberos shot Ron a look. "Hey, kid, call me a plush toy again and you'll find yourself in Madam Pomfrey's hospital bed!"

"Y-yes," Ron said, suddenly looking scared.

"He has issues against being called a plush toy," Syaoran scoffed.

"BECAUSE MY DISGUISED FORM IS NOT A PLUSH TOY, CHINESE BRAT!"

"SAVE IT AFTER WE TURN IN PETTIGREW, YOU GREEDY AND FAT BEAST!"

"OH, NO, YOU DID NOT JUST CALL ME FAT AND GREEDY!!" Kerberos snarled.

"I THINK I JUST DID!!" Syaoran snarled back.

SLAM! Kerberos knocked Syaoran to the ground as he placed a paw on Syaoran's back. Syaoran struggled to get up from underneath him, his face in terrible irritation. "GET OFF ME, YOU SWEETS-EATING MANIAC!"

"Make me," Kerberos said haughtily.

"KERO-CHAN! SYAORAN-KUN! Cut it out. Now. Or I'll have to use the Change Card on you both!" Sakura suddenly interrupted as she placed one hand on her waist and held the Change Card in another. Kero and Syaoran looked at her, then at each other, then back at her in horror. Not wanting to experience being in each other's bodies again, they retreated away from each other. They shot occasional glares from both ends of the room.

"Those two are quite interesting, I daresay," Lupin said.

"They're always bickering, but you get used to it," Sakura replied.

"Harry…Harry…" Pettigrew cried as he turned to Harry in the midst of the chaos. "You look just like your father…just like him…"

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY? HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?!" Sirius roared angrily.

"Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed…James would've understood….he would have shown me mercy…" Pettigrew whispered.

Lupin and Black rushed forward and pulled Pettigrew away from Harry, throwing him down on the floor.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort. Do you deny it?" Sirius asked shakily.

At long last, Pettigrew burst into tears. Sakura felt her heart wrench as she watched him bawl. Syaoran clenched his teeth as his fists tightened. Great. He hated seeing girls cry in front of him. Now he had to watch a grown man bawl like a baby?

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord…you have no idea…he has weapons you can't imagine….I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen…He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me…." Pettigrew sobbed.

"DON'T LIE! YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!" Sirius screamed.

"He-he was taking over everywhere!" Pettigrew gasped. "W-What was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed? Only innocent lives, Peter!" Sirius growled.

"You don't understand! He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!!" Sirius roared.

"You should've realized," Lupin said quietly as he and Sirius stood shoulder-to-shoulder, wands raised. "If Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face and turned to the wall while Sakura buried her head in Syaoran's shoulder.

"No!" Harry suddenly shouted. "You can't kill him!"

"Harry," Sirius breathed. "This piece of vermin is the reason your parents are dead. This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family. "

"I know," Harry said shakily. "But we'll take him up to the castle. The dementors can have him then. He can go to Azkaban, but don't kill him."

"T-Thank you, Harry….it's more than what I deserve," he spoke in a rushed tone as he locked his arms around Harry's knees. "Thank you..."

"Get off," Harry said in disgust as he pulled his robe away from Pettigrew. "I didn't do it for you, I did it because I reckon my father wouldn't want his two best friends to become killers."

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry. But think…think what he did," Sirius said.

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does…"

"Very well. Stand aside, Harry," Lupin said. Harry hesitated. Lupin sighed. "I'm going to tie him up. That's all, I swear."

Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand and coiled around Pettigrew. Sirius said to him that if he transformed, they'd kill him. Harry agreed to it. Lupin then placed Ron's leg in a cast using the Ferula charm until they reached the castle, when Madam Pomfrey would mend his bones. Meanwhile, Snape was still knocked out, and Lupin had to use Mobilicorpus in order to get Snape's unconscious body to move.


	18. The Light Card and the Patronus Charm

Chapter 18:  
The Light Card and the Patronus Charm

A/N: Sorry for not updating in so long. I'm in college now, so there won't be much free time for me to update my stories every so often. Plus, I was busy over the summer. ;

* * *

Slowly, they headed down the stairs, with Crookshanks leading the way. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron followed closely behind. Behind them, Sakura and Syaoran trailed after Harry, Hermione, and Sirius. Both Sakura and Kero struggled to keep from laughing as Snape's unconscious head repetitively smashed against the ceiling. The trip back down into the tunnel was difficult, since Ron, Lupin, and Pettigrew had to jerk their bodies sideways in order to make it through.

"You know what this means?" Sirius suddenly asked Harry. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

Harry nodded. "You're free."

"Yes, but I'm also….I don't know if anyone ever told you..." Sirius took a deep breath before telling Harry what he already knew--that he was his godfather.

Harry nodded, once again, as he told Sirius that he already knew that.

Stiffening himself, Sirius continued. He said James and Lily appointed him as Harry's guardian if anything happened to them, and that he wouldn't mind if Harry wanted to stay with his aunt and uncle instead, but just in case Harry wanted a different home once his (Sirius) name was cleared, he'd be happy to take his godson in.

Shaken with joy beyond belief, Harry blurted, "What?! Live with you? Leave the Dursleys?"

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to. I understand, I just thought I'd—" Sirius said quickly, but Harry interrupted him.

"Are you insane?!" Harry croaked in excitement as he expressed his want to leave them, then fired away questions like "have you got a house" and "when can I move in".

"Looks like something good just went on between them," Kero noted.

"Un," Sakura agreed.

_Harry-kun!_

_Wh-what? Sakura, how'd you get inside my mind?_

_I can read minds, you know. I was having a telepathy tea party with Black-san back in there while you guys were arguing back and forth. So anyway, what was that all about?_

_Sirius just offered to let me move in with him and leave the Dursleys if he's set free!_

_That's great!_

They finally made it out of the Whomping Willow. By now, it was already dark. The only light emitting came from the castle windows. Occasionally, they could hear Pettigrew whimpering and constantly wheezing. Lupin threatened to kill Pettigrew if he made a wrong move. As they moved across the grounds, the light grew larger.

Then, out of the corner of his eyes, Syaoran caught a glimpse of Lupin growing rigid. Turning his head to face him, he saw that Lupin was shaking uncontrollably. Quickly, he leapt in front of Sakura, his arms spread out in front of her protectively. Confused, Sakura stared at him, then widened her eyes upon seeing what was going on. Lupin struggled against his body as he fought to prevent his werewolf transformation. Glancing up, Kero gasped.

"Oh, no! It's a full moon!" he cried.

"He hasn't taken his potion tonight! He's not safe!" Hermione said.

"Quickly, run!" Sirius shouted.

But Harry, wanting to help, tried to leap forward, but Sirius caught him around the chest and threw him back.

"Leave it to me! Run!" Sirius yelled.

"_Demo_…" Sakura began, but Syaoran interrupted her.

"He's not his usual self right now. Don't get close to him," he warned.

"Lupin-sensei…" Sakura muttered worriedly.

Suddenly, they heard Hermione scream, and spun around to see Pettigrew lunging at the wand Ron had dropped onto the ground. Ron had fallen onto the grass, and after a flash of light, was unconscious. Another flash of light, and Crookshanks was also unconscious.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry said as he disarmed Pettigrew. "Stay where you are!"

Too late. Pettigrew had already transformed into his Animagus form, and was scurrying through the grass.

"Kero-chan!" Sakura cried.

Kero nodded. "I got it!" He took off after Pettigrew, his small, beady eyes fixated on the grass.

"Come on, let's go! We have to stop Lupin-sensei before he hurts anyone in his current state!" Sakura said. Taking out the Fly Card, she tapped it with her wand. Pure, white wings emerged from her back as she took flight. Glancing down at Syaoran, she requested he wait for her. Hermione, Harry, and Ron gaped up at Sakura, mesmerized by her wings.

"No way. I'm coming with—" Syaoran started, but suddenly heard what sounded like a dog in pain.

"Sirius," Harry muttered. He broke into a run, Hermione and Syaoran following right behind him. Sakura followed them from the sky, her wings beating against the night sky. She could feel the cold air rushing through her, but she didn't care.

Sirius's yelp suddenly stopped as they reached the lakeshore, and Harry could see why. He had transformed back into a human. Crouched on all fours, Sirius desperately tried to cover his head with his hands as he moaned.

"Sakura, be careful!"

"Hoe?" Sakura wondered as Kero flew up to her. "_Nani? Pettigrew-san wa doko desu ka?"_

Kero shook his head. "I lost sight of him. But anyway, there are a hundred dementors around us!"

"HOEEEEEEEEEEE!" Sakura screamed, suddenly noticing them.

Down below, Harry and Hermione attempted the Patronus Charm, but it was no use. The happy memories they chose weren't strong enough to keep the dementors at bay. The dementors surrounded Harry, Hermione, and Sirius, their greedy mouths ready to suck away at their emotions. Sakura then saw one of the dementors trying to perform the Kiss on Harry, and gripped her Star Wand tightly.

"_Yamete!_" she screamed, but that only brought the dementor's attention on her. They glided towards her, ready to suck out her happy feelings. For a moment, Sakura felt like she was going to faint, but quickly regained her composure in time to launch a card into the air.

"LIGHT!"

A brilliant splash of white light emerged from out of nowhere. Not being able to withstand such brightness, the dementors retreated away from Sakura. Sakura then noticed another source of light coming from somewhere else, and looked down to see a silvery stag.

"Woah…" she breathed.

Harry stared after the galloping stag, then up at Sakura before falling unconscious. He didn't expect that much power coming from Sakura. Were sorcerers really that powerful?

Sakura descended to the ground, letting her wings vanish as she ran to their side. Syaoran emerged from the woods just as Sakura knelt down by Harry, Hermione, and Sirius.

"Sakura, _daijoubu?_"

"Un. What about Ron-kun?"

"Still knocked out," Syaoran said. "So anyway, that was a pretty big flash of light. Light Card?"

Sakura nodded.

Just then, they heard a rustle. Syaoran spread a protective arm in front of Sakura as Snape emerged from behind the trees. Widening her eyes, Sakura muttered, "Snape-sensei?" Syaoran lowered his arm, but he did not take his eyes away.

"What are you doing out here?" Snape demanded. His eyes drifted over to the unconscious bodies. "How long have they been like this?"

"For a while now," Sakura said.

"I just noticed a bright flash of light that seemed to overtake the darkness of the night just a while ago. Was that your work?" Snape frowned.

"Hai," Sakura nodded.

"Incredible powers, you sorcerers have," Snape muttered. "Alright, go on. Back to the castle, both of you."

"What about them?" Syaoran asked.

"I'll take care of them," Snape said.

"Ano…" Sakura began, but Syaoran took hold of her arm as he pulled her in the direction of Hogwarts.

"He looks pretty cranky. Don't want to make him even more crankier," he whispered.

Sakura nodded slowly. "Alright."


	19. The Secrets of Time

Ch. 19: The Secrets of Time

* * *

"Ah, you're awake!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed brightly upon seeing Harry Potter up and awake. She set a piece of chocolate on his bedside table and smashed it into little pieces with a small hammer. Next to him, Hermione had just woken up as well. Just as they woke up, Sakura, Syaoran, and Kero ran into the hospital wing.

"Harry-kun, Hermione-chan, Ron-kun, daijoubu?" Sakura asked.

But neither one answered her. Instead, they turned their heads towards Madam Pomfrey and demanded about Ron. She told them that Ron would live, but insisted that the two stay in the wing for a little longer.

"--Potter, what do you think you're doing?"

Harry requested to see the Headmaster.

"Potter, it's all right," Madam Pomfrey soothed as she explained that Sirius was captured and locked away upstairs. She added, "The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now—"

"WHAT?!"

"_NANI_?!"

Harry and Hermione leapt out of bed, horror-struck. Even Sakura, Kero, and Syaoran couldn't believe what was going on. Suddenly, the doors to the hospital wing burst open as Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and Severus Snape entered. Fudge looked quite agitated, asking Harry what was wrong and then asking Madam Pomfrey if he had any chocolate.

"Minister, listen!" Harry pleaded. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's--"

"Harry, Harry, you're very confused. You've been through a dreadful ordeal. Lie back down, now, we've got everything under control," Fudge said.

"YOU HAVEN'T! YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

Hermione tried pleading with Fudge that she saw Pettigrew as well, and explained that Pettigrew was an Animagus who disguised himself as Ron's rat.

"You see, Minister?" Snape interjected. "Confunded, both of them. Black's done a very good job on them. I am not certain whether he confounded the two exchange students, but I am certain he confounded Potter and Granger."

"We're not confunded!" Harry roared.

"If any one of you would like to see proof of what went down earlier tonight, I can activate the Return or the Time Card. Only difference is that with Time, you experience déjà-vu, meaning you repeat the entire day again. With Return, you can view your own actions from afar," Sakura spoke up.

"Ah, you must be Sakura Kinomoto, sorceress and possessor of the Clow Cards," Fudge said, smiling at her. "I have heard much about you and your friend Syaoran Li from Dumbledore. He told me you two possessed more advanced magic than the students here."

"Ahehe…" Sakura laughed nervously.

"Miss Kinomoto just performed some kind of powerful magical ability just earlier," Snape spoke up. "Something about making the entire night sky turn bright as day. I believe that's why the dementors retreated so quickly."

"Black-san is innocent! I know it! I saw Pettigrew, both in my dreams and earlier before. You may deny it, but Harry-kun, Hermione-chan, Ron-kun, Syaoran-kun….we know the truth!" Sakura cried.

"Minister! Professor! I must insist that you leave!" Madam Pomfrey shouted angrily, not wanting her patients to be any more distressed.

Harry tried to protest, but Madam Pomfrey only stuffed a big chunk of chocolate into Harry's mouth and pushed him back down onto the bed. The doors opened again as Dumbledore walked in.

"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black--" Harry started.

"Is this a hospital wing or not?!" Madam Pomfrey shouted hysterically.

"I apologize, but I must speak to Potter and Granger alone," Dumbledore said. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black…"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" Snape spat. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive…"

Sakura watched as Snape and Dumbledore exchanged conversation, then widened her eyes. "Yue-san!"

"Hmm?" Kero asked just as Snape yelled for Hermione to shut up.

"I said I would be back from my walk…I wonder if he caught on that I didn't come back for dinner….I wonder if he's worried…oh, no, if he tells oniichan about this…" Sakura cried.

"Don't worry," Syaoran assured. "He probably assumed you were safe with Kerberos. Actually, he hasn't done much since he's been here."

"I wonder if he finds it boring here," Sakura giggled.

They ended their conversation just in time to see Snape turning on his heel and heading through the door Fudge held open. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to face Harry and Hermione. 

Immediately, the two broke into speech, but Dumbledore held up a hand to stop them from continuing any further. He told them that it was their turn to listen, and that they do not interrupt him. He explained that there is no proof to support Sirius's theory, except Harry and Hermione's words, but their words would not convince anyone.

"I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potter's Secret-Keeper."

"Professor Lupin can tell you—" Harry said.

"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything," Dumbledore explained. "By the time he is human again, it will be too late. Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little--and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends…"

"But—"

Dumbledore said that it was too late, that Snape's version of the story was far more convincing than theirs.

"He hates Sirius," Hermione said. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him."

"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man," Dumbledore said, recalling the events of the attack on the Fat Lady and entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife. He told them that without Pettigrew, alive or dead, there was no way of overturning Sirius's sentence.

"But you believe us."

"Yes, I do," Dumbledore said quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minster of Magic." He then turned his attention to Hermione. "What we need….is more _time_."

"But--" Hermione began. Then her eyes widened. "OH!"

"Hoe?" Sakura tilted her head in confusion.

"Sakura, you and Syaoran can go with them, too. You can use your cards if you wish," Dumbledore said as he turned to face the two sorcerers. He turned back to Harry and Hermione as he explained the rules on how to rescue Sirius. He warned them, especially Hermione, that they must not be seen. He then said that he was going to lock them in, and that it was five minutes to midnight. "Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"

But Hermione was fidgeting with the neck of her robes, pulling out a long gold chain. She urged Harry to come closer to her quickly. She threw the chains around his neck. Harry looked a little lost as Hermione turned the hourglass three times.

"Let's go!" Sakura said, glancing over at Syaoran. He nodded as Sakura released her Star Key, then tossed the Return Card into the air and tapped it with her wand.

"Take us back to the event that happened earlier this afternoon! Return!"


	20. Rescuing Sirius Black

Ch. 20: Rescuing Sirius Black

* * *

Harry, Hermione, Sakura, and Syaoran landed in a deserted entrance hall. The sunlight streamed across the floors from the opened doors. Harry knew how Sakura and Syaoran got there, but he was confused as to how Hermione got them there.

"Hermione, what--?"

But Hermione only pulled him across the hall into the broom closet and slammed the doors behind them.

"What are they doing?" Sakura asked.

" I think they're trying to hide from their own selves," Syaoran replied. "We did just go back in time, you know."

"I wonder if by 'you must not be seen', they can't be seen by anyone here in the past?" Sakura wondered.

"Maybe," Syaoran shrugged.

Just then, they heard voices similar to them calling out to them from afar. Glancing sideways, Sakura saw herself and Syaoran marching towards them. The past Sakura and Syaoran stopped in front of the current Sakura and Syaoran with a confused look on their faces.

" Who are you? Why do you look like us?" Past-Syaoran demanded to know.

"We're from the future," Sakura said. "We can't tell you the details of why we went back in time, because we can't meddle with the past. We're only here to do something entrusted to us by someone. "

"But can't you just tell us?" Past-Sakura asked.

Syaoran shook his head. "Sorry. If we do, the future will be drastically changed. Anyway, Sakura, we have to go now. Whatever you do, do NOT tell anyone you saw your future selves milling around here." He bowed his head at his past –counterpart and left with Sakura. The past Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, then at their future selves with confusion.

"Confused?" Past-Sakura frowned.

"Oh, yeah," Past-Syaoran agreed.

"That was pretty weird, meeting up with ourselves," Sakura said.

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah."

As they neared the broom closet, the closet door opened as Harry and Hermione stepped out. For a moment, Hermione looked startled, but then realized that Sakura and Syaoran had come along with them to the past as well.

"Sakura, Syaoran, you two didn't run into anyone, right?" Hermione asked desperately.

"Only our past selves, but they didn't freak out. I told them not to tell anybody that they saw their future selves," Syaoran said.

"So your past selves didn't attack you on accident?"

Sakura shook her head. "They probably figured out that we used a Sakura Card to get us here. Funny how they didn't assume we're the Mirror and Twin Card."

"So anyway, what are we doing?" Syaoran questioned.

"Well, first, we're going to rescue Buckbeak, and then we're going to rescue Sirius. And at this time, I think you just left to go on your afternoon stroll," Hermione said, glancing at Sakura. "We'll need to go around by the greenhouses, away from Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us. We must be nearly at Hagrid's house by now."

They set off into a sprint as they ran across the vegetable gardens towards the greenhouses. They stopped for a moment, checking to see if anyone had caught sight of them, then ran off again as fast as they could. They dashed around the Whomping Willow and tore through the forest.

"Right," Hermione gasped. "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's….keep out of sight, Harry. You too, Sakura and Syaoran."

They silently edged their way through the trees. Then, upon glimpsing the front of Hagrid's hut, they heard knocking. Slowly, they moved behind a wide oak trunk and peeked out from both sides. Sakura and Syaoran jumped high onto a tree branch above Hermione and Harry. Hermione raised her head to look at them.

"Wow, you two are good tree climbers!" she whispered.

"Years of experience," Syaoran said. "We used to climb up on trees to think to ourselves all the time back in Tomoeda Elementary."

Sakura, Syaoran, Harry, and Hermione watched as their past selves, excluding Sakura, entered Hagrid's hut. At Hermione's cue and command, they moved closer to Buckbeak. Harry wanted to free Buckbeak right there and then, but Hermione told him that if he did, the Committee people would think Hagrid set Buckbeak free.

Suddenly, there was a crash of breaking china coming from inside the cabin. Hermione noted that it was Hagrid breaking the milk jug. Then a few minutes later, they heard Hermione yelp in surprise.

"Hermione, what if we--we just run in there and grab Pettigrew--" Harry said suddenly.

"No!" Hermione whispered terribly.

"We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!"

Hermione asked Harry what he would do if he saw himself bursting into Hagrid's house. Harry answered that he would've gone mad, or thought there was some Dark Magic going on.

"Exactly! You wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourself. Don't you see? Professor McGonagall told me what awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time. Loads of them end up killing their past or future selves by mistake!" Hermione said.

"Okay!" Harry said. "It was just an idea, I just thought--hey, how come Sakura and Syaoran were able to let themselves be seen by their own selves?"

"Well, unlike you guys, we just assume that if we see ourselves, it's either us from the past or future, or it's the Mirror or Twin Card playing some weird trick on us," Syaoran spoke from above. "And we don't usually time-travel unless we need to find out something important in the past. Sakura's time-traveled back in time twice. First time was when she captured the Return Card, second time was when she went back to the day that Clow Reed died."

"It took a lot of energy from me doing that," Sakura added. "I had to keep using the sacred cherry tree in Tsukimine Shrine in order to even use the card, because Return drains a ton of magical energy from you."

"But since Hogwart's full of magical energy, you probably can get back to the future safely," Harry said.

"Well, I hope Return's satisfied with the amount of magic it got in order to get me and Syaoran here," Sakura giggled.

"We're about to come out," Hermione whispered suddenly. She caught sight of herself, Ron, Harry, and Syaoran walking out of Hagrid's. They heard Hagrid trying to soothe Buckbeak, then telling their selves to go. But the other Hermione, Ron, and Harry insisted on staying. Finally, they had no choice but to leave. As soon as they left, there was another knock on Hagrid's door; the committee party, Fudge, McNair, and Dumbledore had arrived.

Meanwhile, Harry tried to get Buckbeak to move, tugging on the rope around its neck. The hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. They heard Dumbledore's voice, and Buckbeak walked a little faster.

"Harry, hurry!" Hermione mouthed. She glanced up at Sakura. "Can you use Dash to make them faster?"

Sakura shook her head. "I could, but then they'll only be two-times faster than us."

Hermione groaned. She urged Harry and Buckbeak to move quicker, adding her own weight to the hippogriff. Harry glanced over his shoulder. They were now blocked from sight. Harry whispered for Hermione to stop, fearing that they might be heard.

Hagrid's back door opened. Harry, Hermione, Sakura, Syaoran, and Buckbeak listened as they stood still. For a while, there was complete silence, until the committee member demanded the whereabouts of the hippogriff. McNair protested furiously that he had just seen it just a few seconds ago.

"How extroadinary," Dumbledore said with amusement.

"Beaky!" Hagrid said huskily.

Buckbeak began struggling against the rope, trying to get back to Hagrid. Harry and Hermione tightened their grips and dug their heels into the ground to stop it. Sakura jumped down, released Power, and helped with keeping Buckbeak from inching forward towards Hagrid.

"Someone untied him!" McNair snarled. "We should search the grounds, the forest—"

"McNair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think a thief will have led him away on foot?" Dumbledore asked, still amused. "Search the sky, if you will….Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy."

Hagrid, delighted with happiness, invited Dumbledore in.

"Now what?" Harry whispered.

"We'll have to hide in here," Hermione said shakily. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius's window. He won't be there for another couple of hours….oh, this is going to be difficult."

Just as she glanced over her shoulder into the forest, Syaoran leapt down beside Sakura. Harry uttered that they needed to move in order to get see the Whomping Willow. Hermione agreed, but reminded him to keep out of sight.

"We'll keep watch from the sky," Sakura said as she held up the Fly. "No one can see us from up there."

"Alright," Hermione replied.

Wings formed on Sakura's staff this time as she and Syaoran took off to the skies. They glanced downward as Harry and Hermione moved to the edge of the forest until they could see the Willow.

"It's almost like we're watching a live-action replay, isn't it?" Syaoran murmured.

Sakura nodded. "Un. Oh, there's Black-san!"

"Ouch, I feel bad for Weasley. That must've been pretty painful," Syaoran said. "And there we go. Of course, you're in there already."

"There's Lupin-sensei!" Sakura pointed out a few minutes later. Syaoran glanced down to see Lupin's figure sprinting across the stone steps and towards the Willow. He seized a broken branch, and after prodding the knot, disappeared into the gap in the roots.

"I wonder if Black-san will ever be freed from his criminal status," Sakura wondered. "He's a good person. He doesn't deserve the Dementor's Kiss."

Syaoran nodded. He gazed down again. "Now Snape's going in."

"Oh."

"Hey, Sakura?"

"_Nani_?"

"At the same time the Light Card was activated, did you see another light source coming from somewhere else?"

Sakura widened her eyes. "Yeah! It took the form of a stag, I think. But I don't know why it was glowing white, or how it was able to help me defend against the dementors!"

After an hour had passed, they saw themselves coming out of the Willow. Then Lupin transformed into a werewolf. Sakura and Syaoran watched, confused, as Harry, Hermione, and Buckbeak headed back to Hagrid's hut. Then Harry headed out again, this time towards the lake.

"Let's follow," Syaoran said.

Sakura nodded as they took off after Harry.

Suddenly, they were met with dementors. Sakura quickly used the Shield Card to protect them, then the Erase Card to erase the dementors surrounding them away. Syaoran caught sight of Past-Sakura and whispered for Sakura to get them out of sight. Sakura rose higher into the sky, above her past self's view. They watched as Past-Sakura released the Light Card. A brilliant splash of light flooded the night sky.

"Look!" Sakura cried, pointing down. She noticed a silvery stag protruding from the forest. "_Matte…_Harry-kun's the one who conjured it?"

"Eh?" Syaoran blinked, then saw that the stag was somehow connected to Harry's wand. "Oh, yeah…"

"It's pretty, isn't it? I'll have to ask Harry-kun or Lupin-sensei to teach me how to do that," Sakura breathed.

"Mm. Oh, Snape's taking us back to the castle," Syaoran said.

They watched until their past selves were out of sight, then flew down towards Harry and Hermione. Hermione gaped at Sakura with wide, astonished eyes.

"Sakura, you chased those dementors away, and you didn't need to use a Patronus Charm to do it!"

"Hoe? Patronus?"

Hermione went into a lengthy description of what a Patronus is. When she was done, Syaoran sighed as he shook his head.

"And sometimes, I wonder if you have photographic memory," he muttered. "I like learning as much as you do, but I don't absorb information at the same speed at you, nor can I memorize a book word for word."

Hermione laughed. "Ah, I don't think so. There are still many things I haven't got a chance to learn yet. I don't know what we'll be learning next year until we get our book list over the summer." She glanced towards the West Tower. "We have to get up to the tower…..wait, who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"

"McNair! The executioner! He's gone to get the dementors! This is it, guys!" Harry cried.

He and Hermione quickly climbed onto Buckbeak. They took off into the sky towards the West Tower. Sakura and Syaoran followed after them. Soon, they arrived at Sirius's window. Harry tapped sharply on the glass, causing Sirius to look up. His eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. Hermione commanded Harry to stand back, then shouted as she pointed her wand at the window, "_Alohomora!_"

The window sprang open. Sirius stared weakly at Buckbeak.

"How….how….?"

"Black-san, _daijoubu desu ka?"_ Sakura asked with concern. "Are you alright?"

Sirius smiled faintly as he turned his attention to her. "I just feel a little weak, but yes, I'm fine, thank you."

"_Yokata!_"

"Get on, there's not much time!" Harry said urgently. "You've got to get out of here. The dementors are coming--McNair's gone to get them."

Sirius climbed out of the window frame and onto Buckbeak. Harry told Buckbeak to fly further up onto the tower. They landed on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off at once.

"Sirius, you'd better go, quick. They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment. They'll find out you're gone," Harry panted.

"What happened to the other boy, Ron?"Sirius croaked.

Harry told his godfather that Ron was going to be okay, that Madam Pomfrey was going to make him better. "Quick, go."

"How can I ever thank--"

"GO!" Harry and Hermione shouted together.

Sirius turned Buckbeak around to face the open sky.

"We'll see each other again. You are--truly your father's son, Harry…" Sirius said. He gazed at Sakura. "And thank you for helping me and believing me when no one else did from the start."

"It was nothing, really," Sakura smiled. "_Ano….itterashai_, Black-san. Have a safe trip."

Sirius grinned at her. "Please, call me Sirius."

He took off with Buckbeak. The hippogriff's wings flapped as the two escaped their way into the night. Sakura, Syaoran, Harry, and Hermione watched as they disappeared beyond the clouds.

"_Jaa mata ne," _Sakura whispered. "Black--_ano, _Sirius-san…."


	21. Last Day

Ch. 21: Last Day

* * *

After Sirius and Buckbeak left, Hermione tugged on Harry's sleeve and told him that they only had ten minutes to get back to the hospital wing without anyone seeing them. As they slipped through the doorway, Sakura used the Return Card to take them back to the present. They arrived in the hospital wing, and before anyone could turn around to see them, Sakura called on the Time Card to freeze time. Their surroundings turned a golden-yellow as everything in the room stood still and frozen in time. Quickly, the two sorcerers ran to where their past-counterparts were, and stood next to them. Then, calling back the Time, Sakura let time unfreeze. At this point, Snape had just left, and Dumbledore remaining. He had a twinkle in his eyes as he glanced in Sakura's direction while he gave instructions to Harry and Hermione on what to do.

"I'm going to lock you in. It is ten minutes to midnight. Good luck," Dumbledore said before he left.

Sakura and Syaoran watched as the other Harry and Hermione disappeared in time. Immediately after they left, Harry and Hermione rushed into the hospital wing and into their hospital beds.

"You got here faster than us," Hermione said.

"Well, I used Return to get us back here, then I used Time to freeze time until I was sure we were in the exact time frame when Dumbledore told us he would lock us in," Sakura explained.

A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came out of her office. She was in a bad mood, so Harry and Hermione decided to accept their chocolate. Syaoran, having an obsession for chocolate, kept demanding more and more from Madam Pomfrey. As they took their fourth piece of chocolate, they heard a roar of fury echoing from above.

"What was that?" Madam Pomfrey cried alarmingly.

The angry voices got louder and louder, Snape's voice the most audible. The door of the hospital wing suddenly flew open as Dumbledore, Snape, and Fudge entered. Fudge looked angry, but Snape looked like a cranky old bat with anger management issues.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" Snape bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"Professor Snape!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked. "Control yourself!"

Fudge told Snape to be reasonable, but Snape kept on screaming like a maniac.

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!"

"Calm down, man! You're talking nonsense!" Fudge shouted.

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER! HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT—"

"That will do, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly. "Think about what you're saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not! I would've heard them!" Madam Pomfrey said.

Snape turned to Sakura and immediately started walking towards her. "Perhaps you can give me a better answer. Did Potter and Granger help set Black free?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know. I've been in here the whole time, thinking of what cards I should create. But hey, you just inspired me to create the 'Calm the Heck Down' Card and the 'Get Over Your Depressing Past' Card. "

Snape narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, then turned to Syaoran.

"I was with her," Syaoran said. "And you're even crankier than my mother on her bad days."

"Well, there you have it, Severus," Dumbledore said. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see the point in troubling them any further."

Snape stood there for a while, seething, before he stormed out.

A low moan rose from the other end of the ward. Turning their heads, they saw that Ron had woken up. He glanced around in confusion as he asked what happened. "Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

"You explain," Harry replied to Hermione as he ate some more chocolate.

The next day at noon, they were released from the hospital wing. Sakura and Syaoran, having been allowed to leave earlier since they weren't affected as much, strolled around the castle grounds. During breakfast in the morning, Severus Snape let known that Lupin was a werewolf, which caused shock among the students. Being friendly as usual, Sakura went around to visit the other House tables, and enjoyed conversing with Draco Malfoy at the Slytherin table. Draco didn't seem to mind it at all as he debated with her whether Lupin would stay as a professor or get sacked. As they went past Lupin's office, Sakura noticed that it was almost empty.

"Hoe?" Sakura blinked.

Lupin smiled as he looked up from his desk. "Ah, Sakura, Syaoran. Come in, come in."

The sorcerers stepped inside. Sakura sat herself down in a chair as she glanced around. "It's so empty here…."

"Yes, it's because I'm resigning," Lupin said.

"Nani?" Sakura stared at him in disbelief. "But I liked you as my Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Of course, you're my first one, since I'm new here, but I still liked you! _A-ano…_are you well today? Nothing bad happened last night, did it?"

"It's alright, I'm fine now," Lupin chuckled. "Thank you for your concern, Sakura."

"Lupin-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Last night….when I chased away the dementors in the sky…I noticed something silvery protruding from Harry's wand. Hermione told me it was a Patronus. Can you teach me how to make one of my own?" Sakura asked.

Lupin stared at her. "Well, I can't teach you anything anymore since I'm no longer a professor here…"

"_Onegai?"_

Chuckling, Lupin said, "Alright, if you really want to know that badly….all you have to do is concentrate on your most happiest moment, then point your wand and say '_expecto patronum_."

"That's easy for you," Syaoran scoffed as he looked at the Cardmistress. "You're always optimistic and cheerful."

"Well, let's have her try it out, then," Lupin said.

"Un!" Sakura nodded. Pulling out her wand, she pointed it at the floor. She thought of her happiest moment, the time when she converted all the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, and the time when she expressed her feelings towards Syaoran. "_Expecto Patronum!_"

Silvery particles extended from her wand, then formed to create a unicorn. Syaoran gaped at it, mesmerized.

"A unicorn patronus," Lupin nodded. "It certainly suits your personality very well."

"_Arigatou gozaimasu!_" Sakura bowed with gratitude. "Syaoran, you should try it out!"

"Not today, thanks," Syaoran semi-smiled.

Just then, there was a loud knock on the door. Harry came in, a look of worry on his face. Lupin explained that he saw Harry coming on the Marauder's Map.

"I just saw Hagrid, and he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is," said Lupin.

"Why? The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius, do they?" Harry asked.

Lupin shook his head as he explained that Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that he was trying to save their lives. He sighed as he continued, "That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he….er…._accidentally_ let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast."

"Malfoy-kun and I debated whether Lupin-sensei was going to leave or not," Sakura grinned. Her face dropped to a pout. "Sadly, I lost…."

"You're not leaving because of that!" Harry cried.

Lupin smiled faintly as he explained how the children's mother wouldn't want to have a werewolf teaching their children, and that he could've bitten one of them last night. He vowed not to let it happen again.

"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had! Don't go!" Harry said.

Shaking his head, Lupin continued on emptying his drawers without a word. He then began to speak about Harry's accomplishment, asking him about his Patronus in the end. When Harry was done explaining, Lupin smiled.

"Yes, your father was always a stag when he transformed. You guessed right….that's why we called him Prongs. And just before you got here, Sakura asked me to teach her how to make a Patronus. She has quite a lot of optimistic and happy memories in her, seeing how she was able to conjure one up on her first try."

Harry turned to look at Sakura. Sakura beamed. "It was a unicorn Patronus."

"I didn't try it," Syaoran spoke up. "But I'm pretty sure mine would be a wolf. My name means 'little wolf'."

Lupin tossed his last few books into his suitcase, then closed his desk before turning to Harry. "Here—I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night." He handed Harry back the Invisibility Cloak and hesitated before holding out the Marauder's Map. "And…I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving you back this as well. It's not use to me, and I daresay you, Ron, and Hermione will find uses for it."

Harry took the map and grinned as he repeated what Lupin had told him; that Moony, Wormtail, Prongs, and Padfoot would've wanted to lure him out of school and thought it was funny to do so.

"And so we would have," Lupin replied as he reached down to close his suitcase. He said he had no hesitation in saying that James would've been disappointed if his son never found any of the secret passages out of the castle.

There was a sudden knock on the door. Harry quickly stowed the Map and the Cloak away in his pocket. Dumbledore came in, and didn't look surprised to see Harry, Sakura, and Syaoran there. He informed Lupin that his carriage was at the gates. Lupin thanked him, then bid the three children farewell.

"It has been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage…"

"Goodbye, then, Remus," Dumbledore said soberly.

"_Jaa mata ne_, Lupin-sensei," Sakura said, bowing.

Lupin chuckled. "You may call me Remus anytime if you like, seeing I'm not your teacher anymore, and since we're friends, we might as well be on a first-name basis." Shifting the grindylow tank slightly, he shook hands with Dumbledore. He then nodded to Harry with a quick smile before he left the office.

"Well, then, I'm going down to see how Snape-sensei is doing," Sakura said as she leapt up from her chair and darted out of the DADA office. Syaoran and Harry stared after her with blank, clueless stares. Sitting back down, Harry glanced gloomily at the floor. He looked back up when he heard Dumbledore closing the door.

"Why so miserable, Harry? You should be very proud of yourself last night."

"It didn't make any difference," Harry sighed. "Pettigrew got away."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow as he explained to Harry in a quiet tone that Harry had made all the difference in the world by uncovering the truth and saving an innocent from a terrible fate.

Meanwhile…

"It should be right around here somewhere--there it is!" Sakura muttered as she rounded the corners of the Dungeons. She stopped in front of Professor's Snape office and stared at the closed door in front of her. Would it be a good idea to come in uninvited?

"What are you doing here?"

"HOE!" Sakura yelped as she spun around.

Snape stared down at her with expressionless eyes. With a flick of his wand, he opened his office door and stepped inside. After a moment of hesitation, Sakura stepped inside the Potions office as well. Her emerald eyes darted to all the Potions ingredient jars with awe.

"Well? What did you come to see me for?" Snape demanded.

"Oh….ano….I heard you wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job….and…well….since Lupin-sensei is leaving this year….ano….are you going to apply for the job for next year's term?" Sakura asked as she touched her index fingers against each other nervously.

"I have applied for the position since I first became a teacher here, and I will continue to do so," Snape said coldly. "Now if you don't have anything more to say to me--"

"_Harry-kun no okaasan desu ka_?" Sakura suddenly asked, catching sight of a single photograph of Lily Potter.

"Miss Kinomoto, I cannot understand your language," Snape said.

"Oh, right. Is that Harry's mother?" Sakura repeated in English.

"Yes. That's none of your business."

"You liked her, didn't you?"

"I never said that."

"You never said anything bad about Harry-kun's mom. You only said bad things about his dad. You must really like her if you never said anything bad about her," Sakura smiled. "You guys were in the same year at Hogwarts, so you know each other pretty well, right? What were Harry-kun's parents like? Harry-kun, Lupin-sensei, and Sirius-san has told me, but I want to hear your opinion."

_This girl…._Snape thought irritably. "First of all, yes, I did like Potter's mother. We were childhood friends, and I was the one who introduced her to Hogwarts before we even got a letter of acceptance. Potter, Lupin, and Black were the arrogant three that we met on the train. Always playing tricks on others, skipping school, causing trouble…..and Potter, acting like some famous Quidditch player…"

He stopped to glance at the Cardmistress. "Are you satisfied with my answer yet?"

"Hai. I can understand now that Potter-san, Lupin-sensei, and Sirius-san are good people, but with a mischievous and daring past," Sakura grinned. She bowed respectively in front of Professor Snape. "I'll be going now." Turning around, she headed out the door. But before she disappeared out of sight, she glanced back behind her shoulders at Snape. "_Ano….gomen nasai…_I'm sorry about last night."

* * *

As the end of term approached, there were many different theories about what happened to Sirius and Buckbeak, but only Harry, Hermione, Sakura, and Syaoran knew the real truth. Draco was fuming about Buckbeak, convinced that the giant oaf had smuggled the hippogriff to safety. He also seemed upset that his father had been outsmarted by a gamekeeper. On the other hand, Percy Weasley was ranting about what he would do if he got into the Ministry.

Sakura spent most of her days coming with new cards to create. So far, she created the Music Card, which played instrumental music (she wanted something to accommodate the Song Card), the Happiness Card (her next defense against dementors), the Locate Card (to locate lost and hidden objects as well as people), the Camera Card (so she could take photos and film in times when Tomoyo was not able to be there, and use it again next year if she comes back to Hogwarts) and the Transfer Card (to transfer heavy objects and humans from one place to another. More effective than the Move Card, which can only transfer light objects to a certain distance).

On the last day of term, the exam results came out. They had passed every subject; Harry seemed amazed that he even passed Potions. He figured that Dumbledore must've stepped in to keep Snape from failing him on purpose. Every time he glanced at Harry, he would have a flexing feeling in his fingers as if he wanted to strangle the poor boy. On the other hand, Percy received perfect scores on his N.E.W.T.s, Fred and George passed their OWLS, and Gryffindor won the House Cup due to their big Quidditch winning.

The next morning, the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station. Hermione told Harry and Hermione about how she was going to drop Muggle Studies and Divination, explaining to them that the Time-Turner was driving her crazy. Ron still seemed distraught that she didn't tell them about the Time-Turner. Hermione counteracted with the fact that she promised not to tell anyone.

In another compartment, Sakura, Syaoran, Yue, and Kero sat quietly, waiting to get home at last. Sakura was sad to see such a great year go by so fast. That morning, she gave a rather long thank you speech to everyone at breakfast. Snape looked almost surprised that one of his students actually appreciated him, and stared at her as if he'd never seen a generous or grateful person in his life. One by one, Sakura thanked the teachers for their hard work and dedication in teaching the students everything they ever needed to know, then the entire student population for making her, Syaoran, Yukito/Yue, and Kero feel welcome. Before they stepped onto the Hogwarts Express, Draco told Sakura that she was probably the only Gryffindor he enjoyed meeting, and hoped to introduce her to his parents someday. He also pointed out to her that she was the only Gryffindor to ever have friends from all the House tables.

"I wonder if we can come back next year…." Sakura muttered as she stared outside the window.

"We can't miss our Muggle education, you know," Syaoran said.

"I know…if only there was a way we can go to Hogwarts and Tomoeda Middle School at the same time…" Sakura sighed. "And I don't want to leave Tomoyo-chan, otousan, and oniichan behind for another year, either…"

"Well, let's just focus on the great times we had this year," Syaoran said. "Mother will be pleased to hear what I have learned from this school."

Sakura smiled. She then stood up to leave the compartment, telling Syaoran, Yue, and Kero that she was going to visit Harry's compartment. It didn't take her very long to reach it. Hesitantly, she stood outside, then slowly knocked on the door. It was Hermione who opened it for her. Her brown eyes lit up upon seeing the Cardmistress.

"Sakura! Come in! Where's Syaoran?"

"He's in our compartment. I came by myself. So what's going on?" Sakura replied.

Harry looked up at Sakura with a beaming face. "Sakura, guess what? I got a letter from Sirius! He's doing okay, and he gave me permission to go to Hogsmeade!"

"Really? That's great!" Sakura beamed proudly as well. "Can I see the letter?"

"Sure," Harry said, handing her the letter.

Sakura read it through, then handed it back to Harry with a smile. Noticing the small puffy owl for the first time, she asked what it was. Ron pointed out that Sirius let him keep the owl since he felt sorry for making his rat disappear. Giggling, Sakura bent down to gently pat the owl on the head.

"It's so cute!"

_Ne, Sirius-san._

_MERLIN'S BEARD, YOU CAN READ MY MIND FROM THAT FAR AWAY?! I'm three-thousand-plus miles away from you!_

_ITAI! MY HEAD! _

_Sorry for shouting. I was just in a state of disbelief._

_I-It's alright. I-I'm fine. _

_How are Harry, Hermione, and Ron? Are they well?_

_Hai. They just received your letter. The owl you sent with the letter is pretty cute. I'm glad you let Ron-kun keep it. We all passed our exams, and Gryffindor won House Cup. Oh, and on the other hand, Snape-sensei is still fuming like a Tasmanian devil over what happened the night you escaped. _

_Typical of that greasy-haired, nosy, Dark-Arts obsessed git. _

"Sakura? You suddenly became silent," Ron said, suddenly noticing that Sakura became silent for 5 minutes.

"Hey, I'm having a telepathy tea party with Sirius-san," Sakura said. "He seemed pretty surprised that I can communicate with him telepathically this far away."

Harry stared at Sakura with amazement. "Sakura, can you ask him where he is?"

_Harry-kun wants to know where you are. _

_I'm somewhere in Europe, but I plan to move somewhere tropical beyond the Ministry's jurisdiction. _

"He says he's somewhere in Europe," Sakura told Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

"That makes me feel loads better. Thanks, Sakura," Harry grinned.

_The train's pulling in to King's Cross. _

_Is that so? Well, good luck back in your country. I do hope you come back to Hogwarts next year. I can see that my godson has found another friend in you and Syaoran. _

_But I have my Muggle school to attend as well…and I can't leave my best friend every year…_

_That's quite a problem, isn't it? If your friend had any magic, she might have been able to attend, right?_

_Un. _

_Well, since you might already be pulling into King's Cross, I might as well end our conversation. I hope to see you again, Sakura._

_You too, Sirius-san._

After telling the three that she was leaving their compartment, Sakura headed back to hers and sat down beside Syaoran.

"Well?" Kero asked.

"I had a pleasant mind-chat with Sirius-san. He's doing well, and he sent Harry a letter." Sakura replied. She turned her attention towards Yue. "Yue-san, you didn't do much at the school…"

"I was only there because your brother told me to look after you. There wasn't any danger, except for the dementors, but I figured you were able to handle them without me," Yue said distantly.

"You sure know how to ruin a good party," Kero said.

"And you sure know how to stuff your fatty self," Syaoran retorted.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I JUST SAID!"

Sakura sighed as she watched the train pull into King's Cross. They all boarded off the train and stepped through the barrier of Platform 9 ¾. On the other side, Eriol and Nakuru were waiting for Sakura, Syaoran, Yue (who transformed back into Yukito), and Kero. Vernon Dursley stood a few distances away, waiting impatiently for Harry Potter. He eyed the Weasleys suspiciously, and his suspicions became confirmed when he saw Harry being hugged by Mrs. Weasley.

"How was it?" Eriol asked Sakura.

"It was fun!" Sakura grinned cheerfully. "Tomoyo-chan will be pleased that I wore her costumes."

"Sakura-chan, you look so cute!" Nakuru said as she glomped Sakura.

"Hoee..."

Suddenly noticing Harry and Mr. Dursley, Sakura decided to go over to them to bid Harry goodbye.

"HARRY-KUN!"

"Eh?" Harry turned around to see Sakura running up to him. He seemed thankful that Sakura was wearing her Muggle clothes—a white tubetop with cherry blossom designs on the lower right and a long, pink skirt--or else his uncle would've given her a suspicious look. "Sakura, what are you--?"

"Hello, nice to meet you. I am Sakura Kinomoto. You must be Harry-kun's uncle. Please take good care of him!" Sakura greeted as she bowed politely to Vernon Dursley.

"Who is this girl?" Vernon growled to Harry.

"My friend. She's a sorceress, but she knows more about the Muggle world than any of us Hogwarts student. She's from Japan, and she was an exchange student along with her boyfriend Syaoran Li," Harry explained. "This was her first year here, and possibly her last. She might be going back to her Muggle school next year."

"And knowing Tomoyo-chan, she'd want me to spill everything that happened at Hogwarts this year," Sakura grinned. "Ah, it'll be good to see her, Yamazaki-kun, Naoko-chan, Chiharu-chan, and Rika-chan again. Mou, I wonder if sensei gave us any homework over the summer…"

Vernon Dursley narrowed his eyes at her, then said, "I guess you're alright. You could teach this boy a thing or two about manners, seeing how you know how to be polite."

"Jaa, sayonara, Harry-kun, Dursley-san," Sakura bowed once again before moving on to Ron and Hermione's family. Molly and Arthur Weasley, as well as Bill and Charlie, were pleased to meet her. Arthur was amazed that Sakura was a sorceress, and asked her questions how it was different from the wizard/witch's lifestyle. Sakura explained that sorcerers co-existed with Muggles peacefully, and blended in with the Muggle world more so than wizards and witches. She added that sorcerers attended Muggle schools, and that they could use their magic without being punished.

"Really? How astounding," Arthur said excitedly after Sakura finished.

"It's been nice meeting you, Sakura," Molly smiled.

"Hey, Sakura, wanna join us at the Quidditch World Cup this summer?" Fred grinned.

"Yeah, we'll be looking forward to seeing you there," George added.

"I don't know…I still need to catch up on a lot of things with my Muggle friends…" Sakura said slowly.

"Well, if you decide to go, just give us a call. I know how to use the fellytone now," Ron replied.

Sakura giggled. "It's telephone, Ron-kun. Hermione-chan is right. You should take Muggle Studies next year." She bowed. "Sayonara."

"Such a charming and cheerful girl," Molly smiled.

"She's quite an optimistic one," Percy said. "She could cheer anyone up when they're down, possibly the only student in all of Gryffindor Professor Snape ever favored, and the only Gryffindor to befriend all the House tables. That Sakura is really something."

After Sakura introduced herself to Hermione's parents, she went up to Draco's parents just as they were about to leave. Draco seemed surprised to see her, though his parents were suspicious that their son had befriended a Muggle and shamed their family name.

"No, no, she is not a Muggle," Draco said as he gazed at Sakura with something between a smirk and a smile. "This is Sakura Kinomoto, a sorceress from Japan. She has incredibly powerful magic."

"Oh, really?" Lucius Malfoy raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Sakura. "Would you care to demonstrate how powerful your magic is?"

"Dear, they're not allowed to use their magic outside of Hogwarts, remember?" Narcissa Malfoy said. "We wouldn't want our son to be expelled from that school."

"It's alright, I'll show it to you." Sakura smiled as she held out her Star Key. "Key that holds the power of the stars…release!" She demonstrated a few of the Sakura Cards' powers, then used the Erase Card to erase the Muggles' memories of what they might have seen. She then transformed her wand back into a key and tucked it back inside her shirt and looked at Draco's parent expectantly.

"Extraordinary. Very extraordinary," Lucius muttered. "Your magic is rather different than ours."

Sakura nodded. "Hai. We draw our magic from the stars, the sun, and the moon. Sorcery magic is celestial."

"Sakura, you should come to the Quidditch World Cup," Draco said. "I would like to see you there. I can point out the best Qudditch team to you."

"Gomen ne, but I already turned down Ron-kun's offer on going. I'd like to catch up on things back in Japan. My family and friends must've missed me the entire year I was at Hogwarts, even though I went back home every four weeks to visit them. Well, sayonara. I hope to meet you all again someday," Sakura replied as she bowed before running back to Eriol, Syaoran, Yukito, Nakuru, and Kero.

"Well, then, all set?" Eriol asked.

"Un!" Sakura beamed as they left King's Cross to head to the airport for their trip back to Japan.


	22. Author's Note

Author's Note:

The sequel to this story, Yasashisa no Namida, is out! Look for it on my user profile.

And let us mourn over the fact that the Harry Potter 6 movie has been pushed back from its due release date. Now, don't blame Twilight, as they've got nothing to do with this, and they only leapt at the opening slot after HP6 moved (Meyer said it was a huge shock to hear about the HP6 release date being pushed back). Now, I wouldn't have cared if WB announced it before they released the trailer, but since they announced it AFTER they released the trailer...-growls- Thanks for getting the fans' hopes up and then disappointing them a week or two later with your "BWAHAHAHA I'M GONNA CHANGE THE RELEASE DATE TO SUMMER NOW." ;

Also, I had a Japanese glossary made, but it somehow got deleted off my account on the library computer. o.o; The only other copy I have of it is on my email, but the file doesn't want to open for me.


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